Nick Greenwood claims the signing of a player dubbed by some as the next Eidur Gudjohnsen shows how far Eastbourne Borough have progressed in recent years.

Viktor Unnar Illugason is expected to make his debut for Borough in tonight’s clash with Blue Square premier leaders Forest Green Rovers at Priory Lane after joining on loan from Reading.

Borough swooped to sign the Iceland under-19 international striker to boost their attacking options after Andy Atkin was ruled out for at least ten days with a calf injury.

Jean-Michel Sigere is also struggling with a tight hamstring leaving Allan Tait and Nathan Crabb as the only fit strikers at Priory Lane.

Illugason, 18, burst onto the scene in Iceland when he scored on his debut for home-town club Breioablik UBK as a 15-year-old.

He was spotted by a number of English clubs and was on the verge of signing for Ipswich before opting to join Steve Coppell at Reading where he has been a full-time professional for the last two years.

Assistant manager Greenwood said: “We made a decision after Saturday’s game that we needed to bring somebody in because with Andy out and Jean-Michel struggling we could have lost half of our strike force.

“Garry (Wilson, manager) knows someone at Reading and they recommended Viktor. We haven’t seen him play but from the reports we have got he sounds very exciting.

“They obviously think a lot of him at Reading because they paid a fee for him as a 16-year-old and he is apparently one of the hottest prospects in Iceland since Eidur Gudjohnsen.

“If they rate him that highly then it shows how far we have come that we can attract players like that to our club. It is a compliment a club like Reading trusts us with a talented young player like Viktor.”

Sigere has been complaining of a tight hamstring since Saturday’s 1-0 win over Altrincham and Illugason is likely to start alongside Tait if the former France under-21 international fails a fitness test.

Even if Sigere was fully fit a striker would still have been high on the priority list for Borough due to the prospect Atkin could be sidelined for up to four weeks.

Sigere has failed to score in a competitive match since joining Borough in the summer while Tait has just one goal to his name.

Greenwood added: “Allan Tait and Nathan Crabb both like to play off a big striker while Jean-Michel and Andy are more like targetmen.

“If Jean-Michel doesn’t come through that would have left us short of options but Viktor is over six foot so he will give us that option.

“It would be impossible for me to say if he is a direct replacement for Andy as I have never seen him play but he is strong, left-footed and scores goals so I think he should prove a real handful at this level.”

Matt Crabb returns from a one-game ban tonight but Simon Wormull is still ruled out with a back injury.

Eastbourne: Hook, Austin, Jenkins, Baker, Pullan, Smart, Armstrong, Harding, Lovett, Tait, Illugason. Subs from: Winterton, Ballard, Budd, M Crabb, N Crabb, Harkin.

l Blue Square south strugglers Bognor have boosted their squad with the signings of former Oxford pair Chris Tardif and midfielder Carl Pettefer.

Goalkeeper Tardif, 27, joins on a free transfer from Farnborough. Pettefer, also 27, joins on a free after recently leaving Bournemouth.

Tardif, who includes Portsmouth among his former clubs, played alongside Pettefer at Blue Square premier Oxford United.