CRYSTAL PALACE new-boy Yohan Cabaye insists he is ready to "fight" for manager Alan Pardew, with the pair reunited following the midfielder's move from Paris Saint-Germain.
The former Newcastle man will again link up with Eagles' boss Pardew, who initially took Cabaye to St James' Park in 2011. Having developed into a firm favourite with the Magpies, the lure of returning to his native France to represent PSG proved too strong and he completed a big-money move to the Parc des Princes last year.
With a number of niggling injuries, Cabaye started just 13 Ligue 1 games for Paris St Germain, but still collected two league titles, two Coupe de France winners' medals and the Coupe de la Ligue. Now, he will be hoping to help Palace build on their top-half finish from last season and has praised Pardew for playing a big role in bringing him back to the Premier League.
"I'm very happy to be here and to work again with the manager," he said
"It's great to be back in the Premier League; the club have given me that opportunity, so now I want to do my best to thank them and give my best on the pitch."
"I first heard of the interest in April, so I let my agent work with Palace and PSG. The last few days have been long and boring because I have just been waiting, but now I'm here and that's the most important thing.
"I know the manager, I know England and the language and I know the Premier League. Now I'm in London too, so that's good. I have worked with him [Pardew] before and I'm confident with him. I just want to do my best for him because he's made a big effort for me to come here, as well as the chairman, so I have to say a big thank you to them.
"He is a good manager; he is close to the players, talks to you a lot and gives you plenty of confidence. It makes you want to fight for him and do your best for the team. I want to do my best for him because he's made a big effort to get me to come here, as well as the chairman [Steve Parish], so I have to say a big thank you to both of them."
Although the fee is undisclosed, it is reported to be a new club-record deal for the Eagles, eclipsing the fee they paid for James McArthur from Wigan last season. The signing shows just how far the club have come since their promotion to the top-flight two years ago, and their financial woes just a few years before that.
With Cabaye on board and a new contract for sought-after defender Scott Dann believed to be close to completion, Parish insists Palace may still have plenty of business to conclude before the start of the new season.
"We're working on three more - I don't know if we'll get them all done," he said.
"But that's the aim and we're very committed to bolstering the squad and having a really good year. We want to back Alan, back the fans and back everyone at the club who has put everything in to get the club where we are now. These are very exciting times and hopefully we can sustain this and really build on it."
