Manchester City great Sergio Aguero believes Virgil van Dijk sent Erling Haaland a 'welcome to the Premier League' message during Saturday's Community Shield.
City further bolstered their squad with the acquisition of Haaland at the start of the transfer window. The forward joined from Borussia Dortmund after his €60m (£51.5m) buyout clause was met.
Haaland scored 62 goals in 67 Bundesliga games across two-and-a-half seasons for Dortmund. Such was his impressive form in Germany, the Norway international has been backed by bookmakers to finish as the Premier League's top scorer this season.
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But after bagging his first City goal in a friendly win over Bayern Munich in the US recently, Haaland couldn’t get on the scoresheet at the King Power as his side were beaten 3-1 by Liverpool.
The forward was also guilty of missing a gilt-edged chance in the dying moments of the game as the Norwegian somehow fired over from just yards out after Phil Foden's low shot was blocked and fell back into his path.
And City great Aguero, who scored 259 goals in 388 games for the Etihad club, has hinted that Haaland could take time to adapt to English football following his performance against Van Dijk’s side.
“He was too used to Germany,” the former Argentina international said on his Twitch channel. “Haaland thought he was alone, then Van Dijk arrived and said 'welcome to the Premier League'.”
Speaking ahead of the start of the Premier League season on Friday, Aguero also questioned his former club’s decision to sell Raheem Sterling to Chelsea, believing City chiefs have made a 'strange' call in getting rid of the former Liverpool man.
The 27-year-old signed a five-year contract at Stamford Bridge last month, with the option of a further 12 months, after a £47.5m deal was agreed between both clubs.
“I don't understand the sale of Sterling. There are times they [City] make strange decisions,” Aguero said.
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