But the 20-year-old will have to wait for his chance to emulate the big Finn's strikerate with red tape preventing him making his debut in this afternoon's SPL match against Falkirk.

The Edinburgh club have yet to receive international clearance for the young striker with the SFA pressing their Italian and French counterparts for the necessary paperwork following Pinau's move from Monaco to Genoa before the Serie A outfit allowed him to join Hibs on a year-long loan deal.

While admitting the hold-up is highly frustrating, Pinau is in no doubt as to his ambitions, saying: "I know the manager scored a lot of goals for Hibs as a player and I want to be like him by scoring plenty of goals. In fact, I want to score more than him."

However, to get the chance to do so Pinau will have to first win the battle with Scotland striker Steven Fletcher and fellow hitman Colin Nish for the two places up front – a fight he today admitted he was relishing.

He said: "They are good players and I want to learn from them but there are three of us and only two places. It will be strong competition between us but at the same time we all get along well."

Having played against Middlesbrough and Wigan Athletic in Hibs final two pre-season matches, Pinau is well aware that Paatelainen's side didn't enjoy the best of preparation, at least result-wise, while he was also at Rugby Park to watch his new team-mates falter on the opening day against Kilmarnock.

But, even so, he is convinced he can enjoy his season at Easter Road. He said: "Pre-season is not important, it is only for confidence.

"The championship is different. The manager has told me he wants me to score goals.

"I know Hibs haven't won the Scottish Cup for a long time but perhaps it is possible this year."

A product of the Monaco Youth Academy, which also gave the likes of David Trezeguet and Thierry Henry their first taste of success, Pinau has played throughout the age groups with the French national side, believing his year with Hibs can help him progress to the under-21 side.

Pinau, who scored 14 goals as Monaco won the French reserve league last season, said: "If I can score goals playing for Hibs it won't do me any harm.

"It was always the plan when I signed for Genoa that I would go out on loan to gain more experience and I am very happy to have come to this club.

"I came because the manager wanted me and that is important.

"Scottish football is physical, it's more direct than in France.

"And from playing against Middlesbrough and Wigan I can see the supporters are crazy – which I also like."

Meanwhile, a late rush for season ticket has seen Hibs almost match last year's record of 11,200 on the day of the first home game, a figure which eventually rose to 11,500.

Today Ian Spence, the club's director of marketing and communications, admitted he was delighted, particularly given the harsh economic background which every SPL club is encountering as highlighted in a financial report into Scottish football published earlier this week.

He said: "We had a rush of sales early on, they continued to sell steadily and, as today's game against Falkirk approached, we've experienced another surge with the ticket office being noticeably busier again this week."

As a result many areas of the stadium are approaching capacity with Hibs having already warned fans seats are likely to be at a premium should work begin on rebuilding the East Stand during the course of this season.

Already the Famous Five upper section has only 71 seats left, the West Stand upper is 90 per cent sold out and the West Stand lower 85 per cent full.

Spence said: "This upsurge in the purchase of season tickets in recent years has one downside for fans – those seeking walk-up tickets for big matches often face a shortage."