David Artell has expressed his thanks to the Crewe Alexandra board of directors for showing enormous faith in his decision to sign unknown quantity Chuma Anene on loan from Denmark side FC Midtjylland.

The Norwegian forward has repaid that faith shown in spades, stepping in for the injured Chris Porter to lead the front line. Anene has scored 9 goals in 23 appearances (just 10 as starts).

Artell trusted his judgement to bring Anene in on loan just before the closure of the summer window and he says the board showed the same leap of faith in investing in a player that was unfamiliar to the British game.

Artell told crewealex.net: “Chuma has done terrific for us. His goal ratio is very good and is a good player. He understood that he had to be patient because Chris was ahead of him and the team were doing well.

“He relayed that information back to his club and when you have a player saying that he is still learning then that is music to the ears of any manager.

“The hard work he has put in out on the training ground is paying off and that is full credit to him.

He added: “I’m also grateful to the board for believing in us and supporting us to bring him over. It was a tremendous leap of faith from them as well because they were investing in a player that had no experience of our game.

“Chuma has played in some top leagues all over Europe but England is tough. He is reaping the rewards for the work he has put in and we are for our recruitment strategy.”