Foden and Grealish praise 'unstoppable' Haaland

LONDON • Manchester City's players have lavished praise on their new £51 million (S$85.6 million) signing Erling Haaland and are backing the Norway striker to quickly adapt to life in England and become a key cog in the Premier League champions' set-up.

The 22-year-old, who moved from Borussia Dortmund on a five-year contract last month, showed a glimpse of his goal-scoring prowess with a poacher's finish in a 1-0 pre-season win over Bayern Munich earlier this week.

For the past two seasons, City have largely played with a false No. 9, so expectations are high at the Etihad as he is expected to be the team's missing piece in the jigsaw.

Haaland has built a reputation as one of the most clinical forwards in world football, netting 86 goals in 89 appearances for Dortmund.

At the King Power Stadium today, he may get his first taste of English football when they take on Liverpool in the Community Shield - the curtain-raiser to the new Premier League season.

Having witnessed his talents in pre-season, Phil Foden has called his teammate "scary" in front of goal.

"He's a great addition to the team, makes everyone laugh and is humble, which is important when you come to a team," the England midfielder told Sky Sports on Thursday.

"He's hungry to achieve things with us, which can only mean good things.

"He's coming to a complete different league (with) much faster football, so it might take him a little (time) to get used to, but I'm sure when he's in his flow, he's going to be unstoppable.

"He is very similar to (City's all-time top scorer Sergio) Aguero, Haaland's got all types of finishes as well.

"If we can get him the ball in the right areas, he is going to be really important for us this year."

Expectations are also high for Jack Grealish, who is expected to kick on after a relatively subdued debut season for City.

The England midfielder, whose £100 million transfer from Aston Villa last summer remains the most expensive purchase by an English club, has clicked with Haaland during pre-season and he is hoping that will translate to competitive games this term.

"Erling's looked good in training and once he reaches full fitness will be unstoppable," Grealish said. "He is a great guy, a brilliant guy."

City begin the quest to defend their Premier League title and win it for the fifth time in six seasons with a trip to West Ham United on Aug 7.

REUTERS