Chelsea interim coach Guus Hiddink says he wants to see if Brazilian forward Alexandre Pato still has the desire to fulfill his potential and get a permanent deal when he turns up for the reigning English Premier League (EPL) champions next week.
Chelsea have signed the former AC Milan star on an initial six-month loan move from Brazilian club Corinthians.
"I want to see that desire in him. If he didn't have that desire, he wouldn't have made this step to come to the Premier League. He would have stayed in Brazil and life would have gone on. So this gives him the benefit of some of the doubts from the last few years," Hiddink was quoted as saying by the Guardian on Friday.
The Dutchman said he will help the striker in every way possible so that he is able to do better here than what he did in his AC Milan days.
"It's difficult to say (why he did not live up to his initial potential at Milan). You need to know the circumstances as to why he did not fulfill his promise. Actually, not 'promise' because he did well at Milan. Rather, why he didn't take the next step. That's why it's good to see him here. I will help him to take that next step, though in the end it will be up to him," Hiddink said.
"He has to do it. He's brave because he could have been playing in Brazil, where there's a bit more space to play your football. Here the tempo is high through 90 minutes, with less space and time. So that's why you must respect his decision to come here on loan."
The 69-year-old added that he is looking forward to seeing Pato perform. "I'm curious to see him on the pitch in the coming days. We've been short of available strikers, not having (Radamel) Falcao and, regularly, Loïc Rémy through injury. So I said: 'Let's go for it.' The green light was mine to sign him, and a loan is less of a risk for the club," Hiddink said.
