Having established himself as one of the most prolific goalscorers on Earth at only 22, Erling Haaland became the most sought-after striker in Europe. Manchester City, however, secured his signing before any other team could bid on the Norwegian this summer.
Pep Guardiola has already led the Citizens to multiple domestic titles, but the lack of continental success all these years suggested it was time to add firepower up front. City landed the most coveted forward on the market, and the expectations have been through the roof ever since.
However, things didn't begin the way one would have predicted. Far from getting off to a strong start, Haaland failed to impress in his first official game with the Sky Blues in the Community Shield defeat to Liverpool. His performance left a lot to talk about during the week, but he doesn't seem worried about settling in the Premier League.
Erling Haaland 'not concerned' about lackluster Man City debut
"We will see about settling in," Haaland told Geoff Shreeves of Sky Sports. "People can take time, people can come directly into it. We have to see, but I'm not concerned. That's life as a footballer - you have to live with it.
"You are a kind of entertainer. You get judged every single week for what you do on the pitch and you have to deliver and do your best. For me as a striker, this is something I cannot stress about because if you think too much, you might end up doing things you don't want to do.
"As a young player, playing for Pep Guardiola, playing for the best club in England, I have to keep developing and get better at a lot of things. That's what I like a lot about football, you can always develop, you can always get better at the game.
"The chemistry on the pitch with the other players is something that will come - I don't know if it will take weeks, months, but this is something we have to build on every single day in training."
Though many concerns are valid, it's still too early to judge Haaland at City. Just like one game is not enough for a manager, there's still an entire campaign ahead of us to evaluate how the Norwegian fits in his new club. The season is just getting started and Haaland has plenty of time to change the narrative.
