A former Leicester City striker says Nigel Pearson would not allow a "Billy Bigtime'' to disrupt his dressing-room and will have done his homework on former Dutch international Edgar Davids.

Pearson has confirmed that the club are still in the hunt for Davids, who could become a City player in time for Friday night's Championship clash at QPR.

The City boss is keen to add the former AC Milan and Barcelona midfielder to his developing squad at the Walkers Stadium.

Alan Smith, now a Daily Telegraph columnist, says Pearson would have carefully assessed the impact of bringing such a high-profile player to the club.

He said: "The last thing the manager needs is someone upsetting the dressing room and acting Billy Bigtime. But if Davids still has a passion and a love of the game, he could be a good signing."

Pearson has stated that Davids, now 36, would have to prove his fitness as part of the criteria of offering him a deal and Smith said he would have to be "suspicious" of the player's condition after being out of the game since June last year.

But Smith believes that if Davids is used in the right role, he could be a massive boost for City. The former Dutch international spent two seasons at Tottenham in 2005-06 and 2006-07 after being signed by Martin Jol and Smith watched him a lot in his role with the media.

"I thought he was played out of position in a wide role when he hadn't really got the legs for it," said Smith.

"If he played in the middle at Leicester, he could do well and it will help the younger players in the squad. If he is fit, he will still be able to do a job as 36 is not particularly old. If he still has the desire, he could make all the difference in a tight division."

Lance Tomlyn, chairman of the Independent Supporters' Association, says Davids would be a "huge personality" at the Walkers Stadium and would bring vast experience to a relatively young squad of players.

However, he has also raised concerns about the player's lack of match action and said: "Nigel Pearson must have the final say on his fitness and the player must have the desire to be competitive in what is a very combative league."

Tomlyn believes that chairman Milan Mandaric is the main instigator in the bid to sign Davids.

"I just hope it's all being done for the right reasons and that it doesn't drive a wedge between the manager and the chairman. We saw it with Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink (when Martin Allen was manager) and it all ended in tears."

Allen's unhappiness with Hasselbaink's possible recruitment by Mandaric was seen as one of the factors in a breakdown of relations between the two.

Mandaric has confirmed that Davids would sign a performance-related contract with the club and Tomlyn said: "The manager says they are not going to break the bank, but paying him match by match can cause problems as the player wants to play every week and that's not always possible.

"The good thing that Pearson has, apart from his management skills, is a good team spirit and a winning mentality which cannot be jeopardised."

Cliff Ginnetta, who heads the official supporters' group, believes the arrival of Davids would heighten the profile of the club, but admitted the news had received a "lukewarm" response from the group's members because of the player's age.

"There have been a few reservations about the fact that he is 36," said Ginnetta. "But I trust the manager on this one as I have done with all his signings.''

Matt Davis, of the Foxes Trust, said if Davids was to join City it must not be at the expense of the harmony of the squad.

"If he is fit and blends into the squad well, it will be a good signing," said Davis. "There will always be fall-outs and it happened with DJ Campbell, but it looks like the wounds are healing there and all the squad are on-line with Pearson.''

Leicester City have requested an additional 300 tickets for Friday night's Championship clash at QPR.

Their initial allocation of 1,000 has been taken up and the fixture will now be all-ticket, with City fans housed in the whole of the lower tier in the away end at Loftus Road.

The match is being shown live on Sky – City's second appearance on satellite television in five days – but Cliff Ginnetta said: "I don't think the game being on Sky will impact that much on the support. It's certainly not looking that way. The fans like their matches in London and this one is no exception."