Save for a wrongly raised offside flag, Alvaro Negredo would be reflecting on three goals in his first three City matches – form that flies in the face of this oft-touted theory.
His latest hit, the crucial opening goal against Hull City left the man known in his homeland as “the Beast of Vallecas”, ecstatic.
“I’m very happy, but whether I score is not nearly as important as making sure the team wins,” Negredo asserted, “I’m absolutely delighted we could do that, but now we have to keep on working.
“I like it [English football], it’s just what I was expecting - a lot of coming and going, the players have so much quality that they can keep the ball, you have to run and run.
“We call it “running streets” in Spanish - at those times when the opposition have the ball, and there’s lots of changes of possession and it’s very intense.
“But I am happy, it’s to my tastes and hopefully I will keep getting better.”
...Alvaro Negredo on English football...
The 28-year old has had to demonstrate patience in his early days in Manchester as Edin Dzeko has started the season as Manuel Pellegrini’s first-choice for the ‘number 9’ role.
His 75 minutes on the pitch in England so far have come in increasingly lengthy substitute appearances - 10 minutes against Newcastle, 20 against Cardiff and 45 against Hull - but they’ve done more than enough to whet appetites in the stands, meaning it may not be too long until fans see their new man in action from the start.
With 17 goals in his last 16 appearances spread across Alvaro’s final games at Sevilla and his first at City, it’s fair to say that confidence is in ready supply.
“Of course it is hard being on the bench, but that’s how things are at the moment,” he reflected.
“The manager has decided that Edin will start, so all I can do to try to change that is to keep on working in training and be ready whenever he calls on me from the bench.
“He’s not said anything at all to me. He’s just said that Edin is playing from the start, so all I can do is work.
I will never get used to being on the bench, obviously, but that is the same for everyone - we all want to play and only 11 can, and it’s up to the manager to decide.”
...Negredo on rotation...
Before the game against Hull, Alvaro could be seen reading the match day programme while laughing and joking on the pitch with fellow new recruit Stevan Jovetic, giving a rare public glimpse at how closely knit this group already are.
City’s four new summer signings have immediately ingratiated themselves into the dressing room dynamic at Carrington and at the Etihad Stadium, leaving Negredo eager to forecast exciting times ahead for the club.
“We have new players from all over Europe, but I have played with Jesus Navas for a long time and we understand each other very well, Fernandinho is a player of immense quality, and though Jovetic has been affected by injuries he is going to be a phenomenal player for the club.
“My feeling is that the quality here is very good.
“Everyone needs time, of course. There’s a new manager, several players have left and some new ones have arrived. It is normal that we will have to wait a bit to get to know each other.
“But at the moment we are doing things well and we just have to keep working.”
