While Pardew is quick to praise the talents of the precocious youngster, he insists that such an inexperienced player cannot be relied upon with a place in the Premiership at stake.
Pardew said: "Neil Mellor has done very well for us but you can't look to a young player like him to win the league. He's here to improve as an individual and help us get promoted and Brian Deane's arrival won't affect that at all.
He'll get his share of games and we're going to need him. He's learning his trade but you need a little bit more than that at this level."