Foden could be Haaland's new Sancho
When Erling Haaland was asked about the potential of Manchester City going forward, with exciting young talents like himself, Phil Foden and Julian Alvarez, he pointed to how off-field relationships translate to on-field partnerships.
"It's about being myself, to connect on and off the pitch, get to know each other. Try to build on something," he said, before pointing to his productive relationship with current Manchester United winger at Borussia Dortmund. "I did that in Salzburg, in Dortmund.
"In Dortmund it worked well with Sancho, after one minute on my debut he assisted me. It's about getting to know each other to perform at the highest level."
If Haaland is looking to recreate the Sancho partnership with Foden or Alvarez, then City would be foolish not to encourage it. After all, it could produce a killer front line that has the potential to rival any other across Europe.
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'That' United comment
Of everything that Haaland said on Sunday - either to fans outside the Etihad or to journalists inside - it will be his Manchester United comment that will be the lasting quote from his first day as a City player. When asked who he was looking forward to playing the most, he said United - but admitted that he didn't like saying their name.
It's the kind of comment that instantly will get the City fanbase onside. Liverpool may be the main rivals for the title, but it's United who remain the biggest rivals for Blues fans. Haaland will have grown up on tales of his father playing against United, and he will know the importance of the Manchester derby to supporters.
His 'dig' at United showed his playful side, and also that he's prepared to get fully invested in life as a City player. As welcomes go, it was a fairly assured way to get the fans on your side from the start.
New boys' dressing room corner
When the new signings posed for photos in the City dressing room with their new shirts, they were conveniently situated next to each other in a vacant 'corner' of the circular changing room. Photos from last season show one of those seats previously belonged to Gabriel Jesus, who has left for Arsenal, while the other seats now taken by Kalvin Phillips, Alvarez, Haaland and Stefan Ortega were vacant for youth team players.
Now, though, it seems those four will be sat together, with Jack Grealish and Riyad Mahrez on either side of them, giving a new feel to the squad on home matchdays.
No targets for Haaland
When he wanted to be, Haaland was quite open when answering questions, but he made it clear if he didn't want to reveal his hand in some areas. One particular subject that he could not be drawn upon was targets for the upcoming season, aside from a general desire to win trophies and enjoy scoring goals.
When asked about a target of how many goals he wants to score, he just said: "To enjoy. Most important thing is to enjoy," while his verdict on whether his arrival will help Kevin De Bruyne get more assists drew a blunt reply of: "I hope for him he will get more assists this season."
There was a defiant answer to a question about how he could improve - "Everything. Left foot, right foot, movement with the ball, off the ball, everything." - and he seemed to enjoy being asked whether he is the missing piece in City's jigsaw when it comes to their Champions League ambitions.
"I'll say, the Champions League is my favourite competition. You have the answer there," he said with a smile.
Ortega admission and Alvarez defiance over World Cup hopes
With Phillips ill, first up for City was new backup goalkeeper Ortega, who admitted it was hard for him to decide to join City as a second-choice goalkeeper, accepting that it is a transfer that effectively kills his hopes of making Germany's World Cup squad.
"Not now, after they invited me [in the past] they changed the trainer team," he said. "They got a new coach, and since then they didn't invite me to the national team. I don't know what happens in future, now it's important to learn and improve here. At the end, we will see."
Alvarez has a similar consideration, with a place in the Argentina squad up for grabs - but he had a more positive outlook on his World Cup chances, even if his game time may be more limited at City.
He said: "It's important to make this step, a big challenge to come to one of the biggest clubs in Europe. The World Cup is close, I need to adapt quickly, learn to bring things to my game and hopefully help Argentina at the World Cup."
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