Albion boss Gus Poyet has hailed new striker Fran Sandaza as the goalscorer he has been crying out for.

The 25-year-old Spaniard cancelled his contract with Dundee United on transfer deadline day so that he could team up with the Seagulls as a free agent.

The deal was concluded before Sandaza watched his main rivals for a forward place, Glenn Murray and Ashley Barnes, substituted in the second half of last night’s 2-0 home defeat by Leyton Orient in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy.

Murray had a penalty saved and Poyet said: “Fran is going to bring what we missed – putting the ball in the net, simple as that, and that is why he is here.

“He is going to have a great chance to start playing in ten days (against MK Dons) and if he can put the ball in the net he is going to be playing in every game.

“He is a box player. He is very aggressive when he is in the box, looking for opportunities to score, so he brings the lot more than what we have got.

“My two strikers couldn’t score, so I changed them.”

Poyet has been tracking Sandaza since his close friend Roberto di Matteo tried to bring him into English football with MK Dons two years ago.

The Toledo-born marksman netted 23 times in 36 outings for the reserve team of Spanish La Liga club Valencia before his move to Scotland.

He also bagged 11 goals in his first season with Dundee United, but last season’s campaign was wrecked by a double hernia.

Sandaza told The Argus: “I don’t like to say I am going to score 20 or 15. You never know in football, but in the first season in Scotland I was injured for two months and I didn’t speak any English.

“Now I can and the coaches speak Spanish here too, so this season I think I can beat that 11-goal mark.”