Not every player arrives with the kind of billing Sergio Aguero brought with him when he first moved to the Premier League and is able to live up to it straight away…but nothing 30 goals in his first season at the Etihad Stadium meant he got off to the best possible start.
Aguero had just turned 23 and was living outside the Spanish-speaking world for the first time when he arrived at Manchester City in 2011 for a £35m fee – a pretty massive amount of money in those days.
The former Argentina international suggested that in other circumstances, that transition might have been much more difficult, but instead he hit the ground running and went on to become the club’s all-time leading goalscorer in his decade at the club.
Pick the ultimate 4-4-2 line-up from players in FourFourTwo’s definitive Top 100 List
Aguero told FourFourTwo: “Why did I adapt to English football so quickly?
“Firstly, because of the desire I had. I always had a desire to compete, I always wanted to give a little bit more.
“I wanted to make a great history at Manchester City, and also because of the fee that they paid Atletico, I wanted to leave them satisfied with the money they’d spent.
“I wanted to perform well for them, so they realised it was a good investment.
“There were many other reasons why I adapted so well
The players that were in that Manchester City team…they was very easy to play with.
“David Silva, with Yaya Toure, Edin Dzeko, Mario Balotelli, Gareth Barry, Vincent Kompany, James Milner… they were leaders, too.
“There were many good players, which made it much easier for me, and the English guys treated me really well.
“I struggled a lot with English, but they tried their best and helped me to understand them.
“I never had a fight with the English players because they were always very respectful. It was all really nice for me.”