Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp is ready to plunge his "terrific" teenage loan signing Armand Traore straight into a daunting battle with Manchester United at Fratton Park.
Redknapp saw his team battered 4-0 by Chelsea in their opening match of the Premier League campaign last Sunday, and on Monday they must face the team who pipped the Blues to domestic and European glory last season.
Traore, who has joined from Arsenal, appears set to replace Croatian winger Niko Kranjcar who returned from international duty with an untimely knock.
Redknapp revealed: "Niko has 'done' his ankle (against Slovenia on Wednesday) and I don't think he'll be fit.
"Hopefully it won't be too long before he is but it's swollen and it's sore.
"I would have no qualms about putting Traore in on Monday at all though. I wouldn't hesitate to put him in.
"He has trained with us and I brought him here to play. The kid is a terrific player."
French youngster Traore is primarily a left-back and Portsmouth will have him for the rest of the season.
The 18-year-old's arrival on Thursday was the latest move by Redknapp to patch up his team, and with Kranjcar injured his first game could come on the left of midfield, playing in front of the experienced left-back Hermann Hreidarsson.
Although Traore made nine starts for Arsenal last season, his team crashed 4-0 to United in the FA Cup in one of those games.
Traore is highly rated by both Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger - who recently signed him on a new four-year contract - and Redknapp.
The Portsmouth manager is now adamant he will not sell any more of the club's key players.
Midfielders Sulley Muntari and Pedro Mendes have both been reluctantly sold during the last few weeks and that has cast doubt over whether the likes of Lassana Diarra, Kranjcar or Glen Johnson may also have to be sacrificed to balance the books.
Redknapp insisted: "I am not letting any more go - definitely not the ones I want to keep.
"Yes, there are one or two players I would like to sell. The only problem is they don't want to go, which is the frustrating thing.
"Hopefully if I can ship some of them out I can bring some more money in. There's still time before the transfer window ends.
"But if you keep on selling your best players you will be struggling and we need a strong squad for Europe this season.
"We've lost two key midfielders in Sulley and Pedro, I don't want any more to go."
Striker David Nugent, a disappointing buy from Preston a year ago, and Sean Davis, who lost his place last season through injury and featured rarely after that, are players Redknapp would almost certainly like to move on.
He could also listen to offers for the likes of Noe Pamarot, Martin Cranie and Lauren.
But none of those would bring in the big money Redknapp could spend on another top player such as Chelsea's Shaun Wright-Phillips, a long-term target - which makes £7million John Utaka's position look vulnerable.
The Nigerian forward had a difficult first season at Portsmouth, and he was not selected in the starting line-up for either the FA Community Shield match against United or the Chelsea game.
Redknapp admitted: "We need more from John. He has got to use his pace. He's got to get the ball and take people on at the right time but it has not happened yet.
"To be fair, it takes a year for a lot of foreign players to settle in, but I am expecting better from him. It's a big year for him, it's got to be."
