Andrew Johnson

Fulham boss Roy Hodgson says big-money signing Andrew Johnson is finally starting to live up to his transfer tag.

The West London club have so far paid Everton £8million for the England international, with another £2.5million to come based on appearances and certain milestones.

In return, Johnson offered a less-than-electric start, with his first five games yielding no goals and a red card.

But the last few weeks have seen the forward come alive with four goals in five matches since 29th October - and Hodgson is delighted.

Hodgson said: "It's not a gamble to sign a player with such a proven track record. Fernando Torres was coveted for several years by teams playing all over Europe before Liverpool agreed to pay the enormous transfer fee that Atletico Madrid wanted.

"With Andy Johnson it's the same. Players of quality don't lose that overnight because they have two or three games without scoring a goal.

"We signed him for a 38-game season, not a three-game season. He came to us not having had a pre-season and it took a few more weeks before he was fit enough to play.

"And what is a lot of money these days? The amount we spent on him is about the same as Manchester United's valuation of Frazier Campbell, who is 19 and just about to play.

"Andy Johnson represents very good value as a player who over the years has proven he can do the job at Premier League level. How much did Pavlyuchenko cost (Tottenham)? He was on the bench last week."