Steen Jensen, the rider Eastbourne Eagles boss Jon Cook describes as his "missing link," steams into Arlington Stadium on Saturday night.

Cook believes the 19-year-old Danish discovery can complete the Sussex squad's transition from Elite League down and outs into one of the top teams in the country.

He said: "It's been a hard road, but I truly believe we can win the championship with the team we have now. We have been getting there bit by bit and I believe Steen is the link that has been missing."

Jensen, who was not due to join Eagles until the 2005 season, has been fast-tracked into British speedway after the club's plans to sign an unnamed Polish rider stalled.

He made an impressive first appearance in a challenge match at Rye House, where he scored a paid 11 points, but riding commitments in Sweden, Poland and Denmark threatened to be a stumbling block to him linking up with Eastbourne this season.

Jensen will continue to ride for Kaparna in the Swedish League, where he is a team-mate of Joonas Kylmakorpi, and for Danish side Brovst, but Cook explained: "He is giving up Poland to come to us."

Jensen, whose mother is Scottish, is a protg of former world champion Hans Nielsen.

He will make his league debut in the No. 2 race jacket in the return clash with Arena Essex when Eagles will be aiming to overturn a four-point deficit from Wednesday's 47-43 defeat and claim all three points.

Jensen's arrival should also give Eagles a sharper edge at the bottom end because he comes in on an assessed average of 4.50, which means that Peter Ljung drops down to a reserve place.

Eagles will be without Kylmakorpi, who sustained a suspected broken collar-bone in the match at Arena.

The battles between David Norris, in particular, and ex-Eagles Mark Loram and Dean Barker should provide plenty of fireworks for the fans.

Eagles have opted for Ulrich Ostergaard to partner Ljung at reserve while negotiations continue for Edward Kennett to link up with a Premier League team and qualify as a doubling-up rider with Eastbourne.

Eastbourne: Rider replacement, Steen Jensen, David Norris, Adam Shields, Nicki Pedersen, Peter Ljung, Ulrich Ostergaard.

Arena Essex: Kelvin Tatum, Dean Barker, Leigh Lanham, Greg Walasek, Mark Loram, Josh Larsen, Paul Hurry.

The start is at 7.30.