BLACKBURN Rovers defender Michael Gray believes the club's Spanish winger Javier De Pedro is ready to cause havoc in the Premiership this season.

De Pedro made his first appearance at Ewood in last night's friendly 1-0 defeat at the hands of Sporting Lisbon.

And Gray saw enough from the 30-year-old to convince him that Rovers have a potential star in the making.

"Javi's going to be a great asset for this club," said Gray, referring to his new partner on the left side of the line-up.

"If you look at his stats in Spain from the last three years, I think he's near the top of the assists which speaks for itself.

"He's got a wand of a left foot and he's going to create problems for the opposition this season, make no mistake.

"It's going to take him a bit of time to get his fitness levels up to where the rest of the players are because he hasn't played in six months and the Premiership is very quick.

"We might have to compensate for that which is why we went with three very tight in midfield to let him roam a little bit.

"But if he keeps playing like he that and keeps creating chances then he's got to play in the team."

De Pedro's performance was one of several positives that Rovers could take from the

game, even though they slipped to their first pre-season defeat.

The Spaniard showed flashes of his talent after returning to the side from injury.

But Gray has urged fans not to make unfair comparisons between De Pedro and former Rovers star Damien Duff - the man he's ultimately been brought in to replace.

"There's not a lot of Damiens knocking around," said Gray.

"Those types are hard to come by and if you want to buy one these days then you've got to pay £15 million, which is a lot of money.

"Javi is a completely different player but he wants the ball all the time, he's hungry to impress, and I think he's started on the right foot."

Reflecting on last night's performance in general, Gray described it as another handy work-out for the squad with the new season just 10 days away.

"It was a good run out for us. It was different opposition to what we'll face in the Premiership but the manager's looking at a few different systems in pre-season, which is the best time to do it," added the Rovers defender.

"A few of the new boys also got the chance to play at Ewood for the first time and I think they fitted in really well."