New signing Gabriele Ambrosetti was unveiled at Chelsea yesterday by manager Gianluca Vialli as the "Italian answer to Ryan Giggs".
Ambrosetti (26), who signed for the Blues for £3.5million last week on a five-year contract, is a left-sided winger and promises to offer his new club not only pace but also crosses for centre-forward Chris Sutton to capitalise on.
Vialli was therefore delighted to have finally got his man, whom he has tracked for the past six months, after Ambrosetti's club Vicenza were relegated to Serie B at the end of last season.
The Chelsea boss declared: "I don't want to put him under pressure but he and Ryan Giggs both play in the same position and physically they are quite similar.
"He's not a giant but he can handle the physical side of the game if need be.
"He's very quick and will allow us to play counter-attack sometimes, defending a bit deeper and then catching the opposition out.
"He has ability on the ball, he can shoot and he has a desire to be successful. He's not shy even though he seems as though he might be, in fact he's very determined."
Ambrosetti, who was also being chased by a number of Italian clubs, impressed Vialli with his performances for Vicenza in both legs of the Cup Winners' Cup semi-final with Chelsea two season ago.
Vialli also revealed the lengths to which Chelsea go to check out the background of each prospective signing - a tactic which has ostensibly only failed in the case of Brian Laudrup, who left due to homesickness just a few months after arriving.
"You want to know not only about the way they play football but also the way they are as a person, their attitude, if they change their mind often, whether they care about their clubs," said Vialli.
The former Italian under-21 international insisted that money was way behind ambition in his list of priorities in taking just "one second" to decide to join Chelsea.
Speaking through an interpreter, he maintained: "I've always played in a small team.
"I'm not a champion like Gianluca Vialli or Gianfranco Zola so this was an opportunity that I couldn't miss out on.
"I have not come for the money. The most important thing is to be happy at a club and I have been very pleased with the way that my new team-mates like Marcel Desailly, a World Cup winner, have made me feel at home.
"It is a nice group of players here and it helps that there are several Italians already here. Obviously in other countries, some players are moving around but it's just an honour for me to be here at Chelsea."
Ambrosetti, who realises that the main difference between the Italian and English leagues is the unrelenting pace and physical nature of the game, remains confident that he can adapt to his new surroundings.
And the winger, who could also play up front in an emergency, believes that he can form an effective partnership with £10 million summer signing Sutton.
"Chris Sutton is a great forward. I hope that I will be able to play on the wing and get to the byline and get my crosses over as that has always been my role," he added.
"For me, Chris Sutton is a very important player," as he has a very strong heading ability and I hope that I can combine well with him."
