Barcelona's new coach Pep Guardiola, who had deemed Samuel Eto'o surplus when he was appointed in June, said on Tuesday that he is now counting on the Cameroon international for the upcoming season.

"When I was unveiled I said I was not counting on him but I also said we would treat him as any other player. My job is to get a good performance from the players which the club makes available to me," he told a news conference.

"During the past two, three weeks, the past month that we have been together, I have been very pleased with his performance, not only on the pitch but in terms of his relationship with his team-mates," he added.

"This is what made me decide that he will be staying with us. I am convinced that he will perform really well because he is a player with much talent."

Guardiola said Eto'o wants to remain at Barcelona and the squad was happy to see the three-time African Footballer of the Year continue to be a member of the team.

The 27-year-old was one of three high-profile players — Portugal's Deco and Brazil's Ronaldinho being the other two — who Guardiola said he was not counting on shortly after he was named as a replacement for Frank Rijkaard.

Deco has since joined English side Chelsea while Ronaldinho has joined Italian side AC Milan.

Eto'o, the top scorer in the Spanish league last season with 16 goals, has shined in the pre-season, helping Barcelona to win all five of its friendlies in the United States and Scotland.

He scored six of the club's 25 goals during the five games.

While the transfer period ends at the end of the month, Barcelona were under pressure to reach a decision whether or not to keep the player before their Champions League qualifier at home on Wednesday against Poland's Wisla Krakow.

If the club used Eto'o during the match then he would be unable to play in Europe for another club, effectively ruling out a move.

Earlier this month Barcelona technical director Txiki Begiristain said at least "four or five big clubs" were interested in signing Eto'o but there have been no official offers yet.

Eto'o, who joined Barcelona from Mallorca in 2004, had been reportedly holding out for a move to one of Manchester United, Chelsea, Inter Milan or AC Milan.

In recent weeks his Barcelona team-mates have lavished praise on him.

Argentine midfielder Lionel Messi said recently "there is no other forward like him in the world" while Barcelona captain Carlos Puyol called him "one of the best in the world."

Eto'o has scored 77 goals in 108 league matches since joining Barcelona.