Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce believes he has bagged Rovers a natural goalscorer - temporarily at least - in Mame Biram Diouf.
The Senegal international, on loan from Manchester United, showed why Alex Ferguson splashed out £7million to bring the 22-year-old to England from Norwegian club Molde with a hat-trick in the 3-1 Carling Cup second-round victory over Norwich.
After two substitute appearances in the Barclays Premier League Diouf marked his full Rovers debut with his first goal for the club when he headed home unmarked at the far post in the 29th minute.
Having hit the crossbar with another close-range header after the interval Diouf stabbed home his second 11 minutes from time and nodded in a third late on.
Jens Berthal Askou's 90th-minute strike was little consolation for Norwich.
‘A hat-trick for one of our players is always very encouraging and hopefully he can carry on scoring in the Premier League,’ said Allardyce.
‘He took up lovely positions; for the first goal he drifts off to the far post, gets himself unmarked and waits for the flick on and then runs in and taps it in.
‘His third one he pulls away unmarked at the far post, Morten (Gamst Pedersen) floats in a lovely ball and he couldn't really miss that one.
‘He does look a natural goalscorer in that he drifts into the right positions and that is not something you can coach.
‘If we put balls in those sort of areas he will get on the end of them and that is not what we have got really.'
