By Karl Wilkinson
January 31 2004

Sir Bobby Robson yesterday called Darren Ambrose a better prospect than Kieron Dyer. Bobby is handing the youngster his first premiership start since joining us. Sir Bobby Robson yesterday called Darren Ambrose a better prospect than Kieron Dyer. Bobby is handing the youngster his first premiership start since joining us.

Ambrose has been brought in to replace Solano who was surprisingly sold to Villa for a ridiculous £2million fee earlier this week.

Sir Bobby justifeded his decision to sell Solano by pointing out that Ambrose is one of the best English prospects in the game. Ambrose has been described as a far better player at 19 than fellow Portman Road graduate Dyer was at the same age.

"Darren Ambrose is ready for the first team now and he will start against Birmingham," said Robson, as he continued to try to explain his thinking in allowing crowd favourite Solano to end his six-year stint on Tyneside."

"We like Ambrose very much. Last season the chairman got one of the best young players in the country in a cheap deal because he knew how to get that deal."

"We bought him for the future but, like Jermaine Jenas, we also bought him for now."

"I knew a lot about him because of my Ipswich links and they rated him very, very highly. We watched him for a long time and we liked him very much as well."

"I know for a fact that the people in Ipswich rated Darren more highly than they rated Kieron Dyer at the same stage and look at the player we've got in Kieron."

"He is one of the best players in England and Darren can be the same. He has exceptionally good feet, a good footballing brain, good delivery and he will score goals because he has got a bomb in his right foot. He is ready for the first team."

"How he responds to being chucked in depends on him, but he will start against Birmingham. He is a big reason behind us letting Nobby go to Aston Villa."

Ambrose has already scored two goals his season in only a handful of appearances as a substitute matching Kieron Dyers tally for the season. Ambrose remains relatively unknown in the premiership and it is a big task for him to step into Nolberto Solano’s shoes.

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