Pellegrini hails Negredo goals

MANCHESTER City boss Manuel Pellegrini believes in–form striker Alvaro Negredo has proved a perfect addition to the squad.

Negredo took his goal tally for the season to 18 with a brilliant hat–trick in City's 6–0 rout of West Ham in the first leg of their Capital One Cup semi–final on Wednesday.

The Spaniard, signed last summer from Sevilla for £20million, has also formed effective partnerships with first Sergio Aguero and now Edin Dzeko.

He also showed against West Ham how hard–working he is all round the field, notably when he chased back to his own area – when City were leading 3–0 – to win a tackle.

Speaking ahead of Sunday’s latest Premier League test at Newcastle, Pellegrini said: “On more than one occasion he ran back to win the ball. He recovered balls, he scored three goals, he was the link with the midfielders – it was a complete game.

“I always thought he was the player this team needed. I knew him very well from the nine years I was in Spain, so when he arrived here I was absolutely sure he was the striker we needed.”