Public revelations are rare in the Premier League, but everyone could capitalize on this one: City were able to parade the world’s most sought-after striker and a beaming Haaland, more comfortable swaying to the chants and chants of the assembly than responding deep into the MC’s questions, he could absorb an enthusiastic welcome to his childhood club. Haaland can be a strange combination of overconfident and awkwardly reticent, but after giving the fans what they’d come for, he was quite willing to talk about the path that had led him here. There were memories of a game in 2018 when he scored four times in 21 minutes for Molde against Braun, and the links he formed with Jadon Sancho and Jude Bellingham at Borussia Dortmund. Then there was the point. “Sometimes I look at someone posing with a trophy and think, ‘I wish I was you right now,’” he said. To be fair, Haaland has already won four trophies, three of them in Austria with Red Bull Salzburg. He was referring to the biggest prizes around, but the envy situation probably won’t last long. Even if City have to vary their approach to accommodate a 6ft 5in benchmark forward, his arrival is highly unlikely to make them worse inside. the biggest hope is that it will push them over the line at Champions League level. “My favorite competition” was how he called it, and a lesson from his new teammates two seasons ago showed him the standards he needs to meet quickly. “You see something on TV and then when you meet it’s completely different,” he said of City’s 4-2 aggregate win over Borussia Dortmund in the 2020-21 quarter-finals. “I didn’t touch the ball for 25 minutes and it’s like”[Ilkay] Gündogan, stop playing tiki-taka!’ It’s a different level, the way they play, and that’s what I want to be a part of.” The signing of Erling Haaland has been well received by Manchester City fans. Photo: Carl Recine/Action Images/Reuters From Monday, when City present their first day of training, Haaland will immerse himself in it. In his address to fans in the stadium’s outer court, he made it clear that the build-up phase can’t go by fast enough: that the start of the match action will be the real time to, as he said repeatedly throughout the afternoon, have fun. “Like I’ve done my whole career: try to enjoy every minute, every moment, not think too much,” he said when asked how he could adapt to the level of expectation around City. “Overthinking is not good for any man.” One might want to put the latter quote in front of his manager, but Haaland showed no qualms about meeting Pep Guardiola’s exacting demands. “I’ve been watching City ever since [Guardiola] he took over in 2016 so I know exactly how they play and I think I know a lot about everything [they do]so that’s the most important thing,” he said. Manchester City’s Premier League title in Pep Guardiola’s words – video The 21-year-old couldn’t have appeared more at home. City are his fifth club and the journey here from his hometown club Bryn, for whom he still played five-and-a-half years ago, has been without major obstacles. Each step was gradual, well thought out by a tight environment, carefully planned. each time he ends up proving too good for the club he joined. That is much less likely to happen at City: he turns 22 later this month and that has the feel of a long-term destination, a peak he has reached even before his most optimistic childhood programme. “In some ways,” he said, “but not when you see how I’ve been doing. It was a big step for Molde, a big step for Salzburg, Dortmund and now City, but it went well.” More than 150 career goals make this an understatement. As Haaland basked in the adulation on a dazzling, blue afternoon, it wasn’t hard to see why this might suit everyone. “At the end I just had the feeling in my stomach: the way they play, everything,” he said. “I had the feeling for City.” It already seems to be mutual.
