Cheikh N'Doye has struggled to impose himself after joining Championship side Birmingham City from Angers this summer, but he has the backing of his coach Steve Cotterill ahead of this weekend's showdown with Millwall.
The Blues travel to The Den on Saturday to face the Lions in one of the most fascinating Championship games of the weekend, a match that's live on Kwesé Sports 1 at 18:30 CAT.
Birmingham are still in the process of picking themselves up after a troubled start to the season and the early dismissal of Harry Redknapp.
The veteran coach was axed in mid-September after falling to six successive defeats in all competitions, and while there has been some improvement under Cotterill - he has overseen back-to-back home victories - the Second City Club remain one point off the Championship dropzone after 12 games.
One of the big disappointments of the season so far has been the form of Senegal international N'Doye.
He was one of the most accomplished midfield generals in the French top flight during his tenure with Angers, but has fallen well short of those standards in England, coming in for abuse from City fans on social media.
KweséESPN have tipped the West African powerhouse to turn things around, and certainly, some of N'Doye's qualities have shone through.
Even in the rough and tumble of the Championship - a famously physical division - he's still averaged a remarkable 8.3 aerial battles won per match, the best in the league, and comfortably better than any player who's neither a target man nor a centre-back.
Cotterill has also seen enough in the midfielder's showings to offer confidence that the lumbering displays will soon be a thing of the past, and offered the example of Jonathan Kodjia as a player who eventually showed his true colours after swapping France for the Championship.
The Cheltenham-born boss signed Ivory Coast international Kodjia from Angers during his tenure as Bristol City boss, and the target man proceeded to score 19 goals during his first campaign before securing a move to Aston Villa.
"It took Jonathan six months to get into everything," Cotterill told journalists, as per the Birmingham Mail. "If you can put yourselves in an environment where you work and you don't speak French and you are over in France.
"How long is that going to take you before you get to know what's going on around you, your team-mates?" the coach continued. "Especially in a competitive sport where you have got to do things quickly.
"As regards getting [N'Doye] up to speed with his language first of all would help him," he added. "So it will take him time to settle in."
N'Doye has struggled to adapt to the pace and combativeness of the Championship, compared to the more sedate Ligue 1, but did impress against Cardiff City when employed in a more advanced role by the coach.
During that fixture, the 31-year-old won an astonishing 11 aerial battles, and also completed two key passes.
"It's a different game that he's coming from. When Jonathan Kodjia came in the game was flying around him and he was miles off it for the first few games," Cotterill continued, "but then the penny drops a little bit. The sooner that penny drops the better for his sake as well.
"In the position we are in, he needs to try and do it quickly."
Birmingham have taken just 11 points from their opening 12 matches, winning just three games, but could overtake their opponents - Millwall - and realistically move as high as 16th with a win in Saturday's late kick off.
"What we did at Bristol City with Jonathan Kodjia was we got somebody in from the university and he used to come there and sit there and he would have some football terminology, so he would learn that first.
"I think he probably understands more than he can speak but you have to say it slowly," the coach concluded. "The important thing is trying to show him on the training ground, I think that's important.
"You can tell everyone but I think showing them it's good if they can have a picture of it."
Will N'Doye's renaissance continue against Millwall on Saturday? Don't forget to tune in live on Kwesé Sports 1 at 18:30 CAT to find out.