Dubai: Barcelona fans anticipating instant magic from new signing Neymar should cool their expectations given his lack of proven experience at the top level in Europe.

That’s the view of British journalist Tim Vickery, a South American football expert based in Brazil, who told Gulf News that the onus is on the 21-year-old to show he’s more than just ‘a rabbit killer’ in South America.

Vickery believes Neymar — ‘an extraordinary talent’ — has stagnated in Brazil and needs to test himself against more physical opponents in Europe in order to fulfil his boundless potential.

Following Sunday’s announcement that the coveted striker will join Barcelona on a five-year contract, Vickery said: “The truth is no one, not even Neymar, knows how good he is. There is no doubt that he is an extraordinary talent, with superb balance, capable of improvising at pace, and an excellent natural finisher. But whether at the highest level he is anything more than a rabbit killer, this is what we will be finding out in the next few years. His move was going to happen sooner or later; holding on to a star player for so long is unprecedented in the recent history of the domestic Brazilian game. The timing is a bit unfortunate — the weekend that the national championship kicks off. But I think most [people in Brazil] have come round to the idea that he has stalled, and needs to move on.”

Vickery also questioned Neymar’s decision to move to such a high-profile club as Barcelona rather than acclimatising to the rigours of European football at a smaller outfit.

“The vast majority of Brazilians who have been successful in Europe have tended to move to a smaller club to find their feet first, while Neymar is going straight in at the deep end,” he said. “He will have to adapt to a much more collective style of play. Pele said he could be his successor, but also said he’d been very ordinary for the national team.”

The striker also urgently needs to adapt his game in order to cope with the uncompromising marking of ‘compact opponents, who are able to reduce his space’, Vickery added.

“There is no evidence that he has made any progress when confronted with this challenge over the last two years. Other challenges he will face will be the fact he won’t be the star at Barcelona and he won’t get as much protection from the referee as he does in Brazil.”

Much of the hype about Neymar’s switch to Spain has surrounded the tantalising prospect of him playing alongside the best player in the world, Lionel Messi, a PlayStation game scenario becoming a mouthwatering reality.

However, some commentators have questioned whether Messi — around whom Barcelona build their side — would deal with having a rival of comparable ability.

Vickery, however, does not foresee any personality clashes between the star pair.

He said: “They’re very unlikely to clash. On a personal level, I’m sure they’ll get on fine.”

Neymar is the latest boy from Brazil to move to the Nou Camp, following in the footsteps of superstars Romario, Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho in the 1990s and the early part of the last decade.

All four excelled during their time at Barcelona, but Ronaldinho’s penchant for partying became a problem towards the end of his time in Spain

So, is Neymar likely to follow his compatriot’s hedonistic suit, or will he mirror Messi’s unyielding professionalism and dedication to his career?

Vickery, who is BBC Sport website’s South American football correspondent, said: “Not long back, he played for Brazil in Sweden, caught a plane back and less than 24 hours later, he was on the field for Santos. He clearly loves what he does, though he seems to love the celebrity round as well. I wonder how his goal celebration dances will go down. [Former Barcelona boss] Pep Guardiola hated them, and banned the players from doing them.”