Steve Bruce has revealed that Arsene Wenger tipped him off about Honduran ace Wilson Palacios.
Arsenal chief recommended Honduran
Steve Bruce has revealed that Arsene Wenger tipped him off about Honduran ace Wilson Palacios.
The 23-year-old is on loan at St Andrews until January as Bruce assess whether he is ready for the Premiership.
Bruce admitted that Palacios arrived at Birmingham via Arsenal.
Arsenal tip
"We were doing our homework on various players and I was having a conversation with Steve Rowley, the chief scout at Arsenal, about midfielders and strengthening the squad, this, that and the other," Bruce revealed.
"About an hour later Arsene Wenger rang me and said he had had this boy over from Honduras.
"Monaco were going to take him but they couldn't because of restrictions on non-EU players.
"Arsenal, with what they've got - which is not bad with their six or seven midfielders! - didn't take him.
"But Mr Wenger said he was well worth having a look at. So we invited Wilson up and we were pleased with what we saw.
"He's got 40-odd caps for his country, he's of a decent age, so we struck a deal to take him.
"He's a South American type who has definitely got talent.
"It's whether he can adapt to this big, physical element we have in our game."
Hope
Bruce is hopeful that Palacios will make a big impact.
"The big thing with foreign players, especially someone coming from South or Central America, is how quickly they adapt, and how quickly they take to English football," he said.
"When you are buying the top ones, you expect them to settle more or less straight away - that's why you buy them, and that's why they cost the most money.
"But what we find with them is that question: Can they adapt in this country? And can they adapt to the certain way we have to play?
"The language thing, the cultural thing, the society thing - it's the whole package.
"And let's be fair, us English, when we go abroad, we're not very good at it. We don't pull up trees do we?
"So we have to be mindful of that with Wilson. He doesn't speak the language, he's thousands of miles from home and the football is a lot different here.
"But, of course, if we didn't think he's got a chance, then we wouldn't have proceeded with the transfer."
