Retired Argentine forward and Manchester City’s record goalscorer Sergio Aguero feels that the club’s new forward, Erling Haaland, will require a period of adaption. Stressing patience from the Cityzens faithful, the once sharp-shooting striker reasoned that it would take time for Haaland to adjust to the rhythms of the Premier League and Pep Guardiola’s style of play. Having agonized through the transition process in Pep’s first season before perhaps playing his finest football on English shores, Aguero’s words are not mere trifles.

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“Logically he will have a period of adaptation to a league as strong as the Premier League but I think he will go through his own process and the results will be seen soon. I think that an elite player like him will know how to reconcile his style with that of Pep’s teams. It may take a while, as it did in the beginning for us. But once he gets into gear everything will be simpler. I think he has the talent to fulfill what is asked of him, which are goals,” wrote Aguero in his Stake.com blog.

While Haaland has a proven goalscoring record- 86 goals in 89 matches for Borussia Dortmund– players who’ve joined Premier League clubs from the Bundesliga have traditionally experienced a drop-off in numbers. Timo Werner arrived at Chelsea after a prolific spell at RB Leipzig but has failed to be a goalscoring threat for the Blues. While still efficient in build-up play and a tireless presence on the pitch, the transition hasn’t been seamless for Timo. Compatriot and clubmate Kai Havertz made a similarly start to Premier League life. Caught out by the pace and physicality of the league, the lanky attacker was a touch out-of-step with proceedings. He would make amends in the Champions League final, scoring the winner after Werner drew out a defender with a decoy run.

Another player to have suffered from a shift to the Premier League from the Bundesliga is ex-City academy boy and Manchester United winger Jadon Sancho. After striking an explosive partnership with Haaland at Dortmund, the English wide-man endured a miserable first season at Old Trafford. Part of the blame certainly lay with United’s mismanagement. One wonders if a second-season bounce under new manager Erik Ten Haag is on the cards.

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There is nothing within Haaland’s game to suggest that he won’t come to grips with the Premier League. His pace, power and bloodcurdling finishing prowess stand him in good stead. But making sense of Pep’s refined, rehearsed patterns, he will need to imbue a degree of tactical discipline he hasn’t required to date. Similarly, the Catalan’s tactical set-up will require tweaking to accommodate the hulking Norwegian. Having eschewed a traditional no.9 since Aguero became an intermittent presence- even Aguero wasn’t a conventional 9- Guardiola has a task on his hands.