QPR boss Harry Redknapp has it all to do if he is to get the best out of Eduardo Vargas.
The Chile World Cup striker is expected to join the squad for the trip to Manchester United on Sunday after receiving his work permit.
But Redknapp has been warned by an expert on Chilean football the man known as 'Turboman' is a different person with a national shirt on his back compared with the nomad he’s become in club football.
Ex-pat John Lyons, now domiciled in Santiago and a top journalist for SportLife website, has followed Vargas’s career since he was a junior with Chile league side Cobreloa eight years ago.
“There’s no doubt that Vargas has the attributes to be a huge success in the Premier League – his blistering pace and finishing ability means he will pose plenty of problems for the very best defenders," Lyons explained.
“However, it will largely depend on whether Redknapp can get the best out of him and if he gets the service he needs to thrive.
“He will always be a danger from balls over the top, and could be a big threat playing off a target man, but he also needs quality through balls, the kind Alexis Sánchez played in Chile´s World Cup warm-ups, if Vargas is to shine.”
Lyons supposes that unless he already has, Redknapp will do worse than have a chat with Chile national boss Jorge Sampaoli on getting the best out of the loanee from Napoli.
He said: “It was when Sampaoli and Vargas were at Universidad de Chile he really started to carve out a name for himself. Vargas’s goals were crucial as la U won the Copa Sudamericana in 2011 and earned him a big-money move to Napoli.
"However, his career never took off in Italy and he has since been hawked around on loan at Brazil's Gremio, Spain´s Valencia, and now QPR."
Rs team-mate Mauricio Isla played for Chile in the 0-0 draw with Mexico on Saturday, and both he and Vargas are expected to get a run-out in Fort Lauderdale, USA against Haiti this evening.
Keep up to date with all the build-up, matchday and post-game reaction to Man United v QPR right here on GetWestLondon
