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Philippe Albert has admitted that he was personally delighted to see Matías Fernández-Pardo arrive at Newcastle United on deadline day. The Magpies favourite, and Belgian icon, has been speaking to Le Soir about the 21-year-old following his late arrival from Lille. €60m deal for a new Belgian Newcastle United have paid €60m to sign the forward as part of a major rebuild this summer focused on youth. That came following the major departures of the likes of Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali and Antony Gordon. Albert is personally excited to see what happens and how the latest Belgium follows in his footsteps at St James Park. “It is a personal pleasure to see a Belgian in Newcastle,” he said. “He will discover an experience that he had never had the opportunity to live and that he will certainly not live again afterwards. I’m happy for him. He’s going to discover an extraordinary club, with fantastic fans who are arguably the best in the world. “These fans encourage you all the time and if they see that you are giving yourself to the field, they will continue to support you, even if there are bad results. In Newcastle, I lived there five fantastic years, the most beautiful of my life.” Shearer comparisons Albert does have a warning for Newcastle’s new striker, though. Expect to be compared to the best they’ve had – Alan Shearer. That’s a comparison that he says simply can’t be avoided. “MFP” will have to deal with some form of pressure. But he has the weapons to meet the challenge,” he added. “He arrives as a striker, a position where it is difficult to break away from the comparison with Alan Shearer. It will be up to him to adapt, work and perform in the game. If he is self-denial and given his style of play by taking the depth, I think it can match with the fans.”