Aston Villa manager Alex McLeish feels the impending arrival of Charles N'Zogbia will give a timely boost to the rest of the squad.
The French winger will soon link up with his new club after joining from Wigan Athletic and McLeish feels his presence will offset the recent loss of Ashley Young and Stewart Downing.
"I think Charles will give the players a further boost," McLeish told the club's official website.
"I think Charles will bring the level up. No doubt about it, he's been a quality performer over the last few years."
He added: "He's now broken through into the France team. He played the extra games for France in the summer and scored against Poland.
"He now knows that he carries that aura of being an international player as well as being a very good Barclays Premier League player.
"Charles can hopefully go to another plane in terms of his own personal career, but also enhance the Villa team."