Pep Guardiola said he has been taken aback by Erling Haaland’s desire to succeed after Manchester City’s new striker announced his arrival in English football by scoring twice on his Premier League debut last weekend.
City beat off competition from around Europe for the Norwegian after he scored 86 goals in 89 games for Borussia Dortmund.
But any doubts over Haaland’s ability to fit into Guardiola’s system after City won the Premier League for the past two years without playing a natural striker were quickly quashed by his match-winning performance in a 2-0 win at West Ham.
“He is an exceptional player,” said Guardiola at his pre-match press conference ahead of Bournemouth’s trip to the Etihad on Saturday.
“It is not necessary to tell you, everybody knows it, but we are just a few times together. He is an incredible competitor, and he wants to win.”