Doumbia has similar talents to Tino Asprilla, says Newcastle legend Beardsley

Newcastle M's new signing Seydou Doumbiareminds Peter Beardsley of his highly gifted former teammate Tino Asprilla.Asprilla signed for the Magpies in February1996 and, along with Beardsley, he was part of their thrilling 1995/96 campaign in which they came painstakingly close to winning the Premier League title until Manchester United pipped them to the post on the final day of the season.Despite his remarkable talents, Asprilla’s time a the club was marred by inconsistencies and the off the field antics. However, his flair on the pitch endeared him to the fans and he is still remembered fondly at St James’ Park.
Beardsley, now under 21 coach at Newcastle, says their new signing has similar traits to the Colombian.Speaking on Doumbia to the club’sofficial website, he said: “Having had him with us yesterday and today, the first thing I thought was ‘Tino Asprilla’.”“When we kicked off, he stepped over the ball and it was funny for me because obviously I used to play with Tino. As stupid as it sounds, that was the highlight of the game for me, when he stepped over the ball!”“The crowd almost went one way and the ball went the other. Class.”The Ivorian made his first appearance in black and white for Newcastle’s reserve side on Monday. He clearly made a big impression on Beardsley, but is still struggling for full match fitness and was taken off at half-time as the side went on to lose 2-1 to Stoke.He was an unused substitute in Newcastle’s last two league outings after making the deadline day move and will be hoping to get a taste of action in the first team when they take on Chelsea this weekend.Doumbia has an impressive track record having scored 84 goals in 129 appearances in all competitions for CSKA Moscow before his move to Roma in

January 2015.