Alan Pardew: 'Jonathan Benteke to travel with Crystal Palace squad'

Manager Alan Pardew has said that Jonathan Benteke will travel to Middlesbrough with the first-team squad ahead of the game at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

On the final day of the transfer window, it was announced that Benteke had followed his elder brother Christian to Selhurst Park after making 21 first-team appearances for Belgian side Zulte Waregem.

He is unlikely to feature on the bench in the North-East after it was previously announced that he would join the development squad, but Pardew has acknowledged that he is happy to have brought the forward to the club.

The 55-year-old told reporters: "Christian's settled in well because he's a lovely guy. His brother has too and I'll be taking him this weekend.

"Jonathan Benteke is a young striker. And young strikers are hard to come by. It was his brother who pointed him out to us."

Palace have recorded just one point from their opening three fixtures in the Premier League.