Dunk: Pedro is an unbelievable talent

Albion captain Lewis Dunk praised the impact made by the club’s new signings after the 4-1 victory over Luton Town at the Amex on Saturday.

James Milner, Mahmoud Dahoud and Joao Pedro all started the game, while Simon Adingra made a scoring debut from the bench. 

Pedro’s runs kept the Premier League newcomers at full stretch and the ex-Watford man scored his first goal for the club when he doubled the lead from the penalty spot after 71 minutes.

“He’s an unbelievable talent and I think he showed in preseason and today what he's going to bring to the to the football club and the team and he's going to be exciting for the fans to watch,” the skipper said. 

It was Pedro’s third successful penalty kick since joining the club after two successful strikes in pre-season friendlies. And the Brazilian’s willingness to grab the ball when the referee points to the spot is a bonus after the departure of previous penalty specialist Alexis Mac Allister to Liverpool. 

“Of course,” Dunk said. “He’s a confident boy and he trusts his ability. That’s three so far and hopefully he doesn’t miss one for us if he keeps taking them.”

Adingra and Evan Ferguson both came on as substitutes to score further goals, while Pedro was given a rest at the end when replaced by Julio Enciso.

“It shows we’ve got top, top players to come on who could be starting next week, you never know,” Dunk said. “And to come on and score goals – that’s what you need from your substitutions. 

“We’re not just 11 players starting the game, we are twenty-odd players in the squad. I think it's massive that those boys made an impact and killed the game for the team.”

While the youngsters were scoring at one end, 37-year-old new arrival from Liverpool James Milner was helping keep the ball out of the net at the other, playing 77 minutes at right back. 

“He’s got the most experience in the Premier League right now and he's bringing it to the club,” Dunk said. “He's helping us on and off the pitch and this is a massive asset to the football club now.

“He's good for even the senior players. I'm learning from him, from his demands and his standards. And as for the young boys, if you can’t learn from someone like that, then who can you learn from? 

“I think it shows the physical nature of him that he's only had 20 minutes pre-season, and now he’s started in the Premier League a week later. He's actually a machine and he's going to be big for us this year.”

The captain also spoke about the team’s aims for the long Premier League season ahead.

“We’ve always had targets in mind and our targets are set, like last year, high,” he said. “If you don’t set your targets high you never reach them.

“So we’re going to be pushing on. We’ve improved every year we have been in the Premier League under every single manager we have had so let’s hope we improve again this year and have an even better season.

“I think we have shown we have been higher each season with more points each season. And if it carries on, then it’s a good pattern.”