Alan Pardew has finally got his man, and the Crystal Palace boss has urged the naysayers not to under-estimate Emanuel Adebayor.

The former Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City and Arsenal striker has signed on loan at Selhurst Park until the end of the season, on a deal believed to be worth £80,000 per week.

Adebayor has also graced the Bernabeu scoring seven goals in 10 appearances for Real Madrid, bringing his total goals tally to 164 in 365 career appearances.

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However, the Togo international is notoriously difficult to manage, has been known to disappear on the pitch and has not played a competitive game since May last year.

Pardew said: “You cannot underestimate the quality he has, I've tried to sign him at West Ham and Newcastle.

"He's a character that needs to be loved. He's very focused on integrating quickly and getting up to speed.

"I'm not sure if he needs a few cameo roles or to put him straight in. We'll wait and see."

He added: “The most important thing is you can't replicate a Premier League game in training so that'll be a challenge for him.

"I see a guy who wants to be a success and be the top goalscoring African player in the Premier League."

Palace host Stoke City this weekend in the FA Cup, giving them a chance to put the Premier League woes of no wins in six outings behind them.

Whether fans at Selhurst Park get to see the new man on the pitch remains to be seen.

Pardew said: "Adebayor won't start on Saturday, he's not been around the action enough. Whether he'll be involved or not, we'll wait and see."