At last....

Almost one month since Garry Cook's 'expect to see Jo in a week' comments, we have confirmed and unveiled the £19million hitman. I'm really excited. Not merely because it's the biggest buy of the summer so far, and the biggest in our history, but because of the quality of the player before. It is true that any eight figure transfer fee represents a significant risk, but I am sure that Jo is a good investment.

I've already written at length about his record HERE - have a look and see how successful he's already been in his career. One Brazilian league, one Russian league, two Russian Cups and two Russian Super Cups and he's only just turned 21. Unsurprisingly, YouTube is full of footage of Jo, both compilations and highlights of the big games in which Jo has starred. (He's played in two cup finals and two Super Cups and scored in all four games). I've found some of these clips - see HERE and HERE.

Jo has been given the number 14 shirt, which I guess makes Paul Dickov's staying on at the club unlikely. More interestingly, it keeps both the 9 and 10 shirts open for next year. With Emile Mpenza on his way out and Rolando Bianchi also looking for a move, it raises hopes for more striker purchases. Presumably the 10 is being saved for Ronaldinho should he sign, but 9? Even with Jo I still think we could do another experienced forward on the books - ideally Milito but there are others. Another possibility would be the promotion of Valeri Bozhinov from 29 or Benjani from 27 to the number 9 jersey. Whilst ambivalent about Benjani, the possibility of Bozhinov staying and playing next season would, for me at least, feel like a new transfer.

Further to what I've already written about him, Jo's youth is an important thing to consider. Despite his four years of senior football so far and his significant trophy haul, he's younger than many of our 'young' players. Born in March 1987, he's four months younger than Onuoha, roughly seven months younger than both Fernandes and Stephen Ireland and more than one year younger than Corluka. Of the first team squad, Joe Hart is one month younger than his almost namesake, leaving only the 1988 births: Johnson, Richards and Caicedo.