IF CAMERON Jerome needed any more convincing to seal his move to Stoke City in the countdown to the transfer deadline . . . then it was provided by the potential strike partner who was also waiting to put pen-to-paper alongside him at the Clayton Wood Training Ground.
The England Under-21 international pointed to the acquisition of Peter Crouch and City's three other major signings in the summer transfer window as being a major influence upon his decision to complete a switch from Birmingham City to the Britannia Stadium on Wednesday.
Jerome is excited by the prospect of challenging for a place in a squad boosted by the arrivals of Wilson Palacios, Matthew Upson, Jonathan Woodgate and, of course, Crouch.
"When you see players like Peter joining the Club, you soon realise the ambition of the manager and the Chairman, and I soon decided I wanted to be a part of that," he commented.
"These are exciting times at Stoke and it's a massive thing to be part of that. I am really delighted that I have signed and I am looking forward to the challenge facing me here.
"The most important thing from my point of view was getting back into the Premier League but another key factor was European football which will be a new experience for me."
The former Cardiff and Birmingham frontman knows that he faces stiff competition for a place in City's forward line with Crouch, Kenwyne Jones and Jon Walters all vying for places.
"You need three or four top strikers at this level, especially with a lot of games and a lot of football to be played, so I am sure there will be opportunities for me and it is up to me to make the most of them. I've got confidence in my own ability to do that," he stated.
"My first priority is to build up my match fitness. I've missed a lot of pre-season training and the early season matches, so I have a bit of catching up to do. But once I've done that, then it's up to me to show the manager what I can do. It's a challenge I'm relishing."
Jerome will be encouraged by the fact that the Britannia Stadium has proved to be a good hunting ground for him in the past, scoring six goals in four appearances.
"There's no specific reason for it," he added. "It's just one of those things; you get certain teams and grounds where you do well and it just so happens that one of mine is the Britannia Stadium, so I hope it remains a good place now that I am a Stoke player rather than an opponent.
"I'm looking forward to playing here for the home team rather than the opposition. Having seen it from an opposition point of view, I know that it is a difficult place to play."
source: official site
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