Sunderland boss Steve Bruce is confident that record signing Asamoah Gyan will more than justify his £13million-plus transfer fee.
The 24-year-old Ghana international had to be patient in waiting for his chance following his summer arrival from French side Rennes.
However, having been given the nod in the wake of leading scorer Darren Bent's hamstring injury, he has repaid Bruce's faith in style.
His strike in the remarkable 3-0 Barclays Premier League victory at Chelsea on Sunday was his fifth since joining the club and his fourth in three league starts.
Bruce has had to justify every penny he has asked owner Ellis Short to invest since he took over the reins at the Stadium of Light, and he admits the club possibly paid slightly more than he would have wanted for Gyan.
However, in the wake of Kenwyne Jones' departure for Stoke and Fraizer Campbell's serious knee injury, he knew they had to act and is delighted they are now reaping the rewards of their bold swoop for the African.
Bruce said: "The one thing I try to do is think of it as if it's my money - not that I would ever pay £13million for a footballer.
"You try to get good value and you try to be a bit prudent as best you can.
"Arguably, we paid maybe a bit too much, but after what happened to Fraizer and then selling Kenwyne, it was imperative that we got somebody in.
"At the time, my thought was if something happened to Darren, how could we cope? Thankfully with this boy, who is different, very different, he has come to the party at the right time."
