Hodgson hails ´special talent´ Tchoyi

West Brom boss Roy Hodgson insists Somen Tchoyi is a big part of his plans for 2011-12 after he bagged a hat-trick in their 3-3 draw at Newcastle.

The two newly promoted outfits had already secured survival heading into the clash, but Newcastle looked to be on track for a comfortable win when goals from Steven Taylor, Peter Lovenkrands and an own goal from Jonas Olsson handed them a 3-0 lead.

But a superb second-half hat-trick from Cameroonian international Tchoyi secured a point for West Brom and an 11th-placed finish, with Hodgson stating the midfielder is a required player at The Hawthorns.

“It has taken me a while to get to know him and luckily we have done the job (securing safety from relegation) without him,” Hodgson said.

“But he is obviously going to be a very important figure for us next year.”

“The more I have seen of him in training, the more I have got to see him in games, I have started to realise that he has got a special talent. He certainly brought it out today and got us a very valuable point.”

Newcastle boss Alan Pardew said he had already turned his attention to next season after his side’s 12th-placed finish this term, starting by identifying potential signings to bolster his squad.

“We have started that process,” Pardew said. “But we had so many first-team players missing today and we need to make sure they are fit and healthy.”

“These big players are important and we want to add to that. We want to take out three or four players and bring in four who are of the same quality.”