Left-back was impressed by club's latest signing from his first training session at Finch Farm.
Leighton Baines says Samuel Eto’o has class of his own and still has the killer instinct that made him one of the world’s best strikers.
The left-back was impressed by Everton FC's latest signing from his first training session at Finch Farm, and predicts that age won’t stop him being a shrewd signing for the Blues.
Baines, 29, hailed Eto’o’s first goal, a thumping header against Chelsea which provided a high point during an otherwise difficult afternoon which saw the Blues lose 6-3, and predicted it will be the first of many.
He said: “From his first training session he looked sharp. I know it sounds stupid but even the way he passes the ball is done properly. He moves in the right way. It sounds like small things, but he just looks a good footballer and he can’t half finish as well.
“He’ll always have that goal-scoring instinct. His movement will always be good. We’ve seen bits of it so far in training and then against Chelsea that he can make an impact.”
Meanwhile, Roberto Martinez insists that he will be using the international break to get Eto’o up to full match fitness.
With the former Cameroon striker a free agent and training alone in Paris before his move to Merseyside last week, there had been questions raised over whether he would need time to get match-fit.
Eto’o announced his retirement from international football last week, leaving him free to work on his sharpness at Finch Farm throughout the next fortnight. And the Blues boss wants his new capture back in top condition quickly, with seven games in the space of 22 days on the horizon once domestic football resumes a week on Saturday at West Bromwich Albion.
“That’s a real bonus for us,” he said. “To see Samuel already in such a good moment of form and making such a good introduction into his Everton career. “He’s fitted into the dressing room really well so I am really happy to see him have that big impact and we have to work extremely hard to get him up to speed so he can play 90 minutes in every game.”
Aside from his headed goal, Martinez says Evertonians saw in Eto’o’s 20-minute cameo what he will bring to the team.
He added: “I thought he played with real experience, real know-how and you could see that every time he got involved in the action there was real meaning behind it.”
