Manchester City have signed Gabriel Jesus for £27m from Palmeiras and the 19-year-old striker is likely to be in the squad for the home game against Tottenham on Saturday.
The Brazilian, who aims “to be happy and to make all Manchester City fans happy too”, has been training with the club for three weeks while they completed due diligence regarding complications involving third-party ownership of the teenager.
Jesus said: “I want to win titles and Manchester City is a club that is used to winning. City is a club that always competes for the title in the competitions it enters, so that was an important factor, and because of the manager, Pep Guardiola, and the squad.”
“I’m getting to know everything. I’m very impressed by the size of the club, with the planning, the structure, the training ground is very big, I really like it. I can’t wait to start playing. You can’t avoid it [fans interested in him], people who live for football, who love football. I was very pleased that the fans wanted to find out about me, were following me, so when I run out onto the pitch, I’ll be playing for them.”
Jesus will take the No33 shirt, previously worn by a young Vincent Kompany after his arrival from Hamburg in 2008. “Yes, I plan to keep it. It’s the number I’ve been wearing since I turned professional,” he said. “It’s a number I ended up with and I really liked. I intend to wear it for many years. I asked if the number 33 was available, they said yes.
“Guardiola said he would really like me to come, that I’d help the club a lot, help my team-mates. I was very pleased and from that point I chose Manchester. I got it into my head that I was coming here to help and learn a lot.”
The striker also spoke about his impressions of the Premier League. “I’ve watched it and I notice it’s a very hard, intense style of play. I hope to adapt as quickly as possible. I’m going to try to take it all in and adapt. I know it isn’t going to be easy but it only depends on me to put in the effort to adapt.
“I can’t feel scared, being given an opportunity like this to change my life. There are more challenges and opportunities to change the lives of my family members, to give them opportunities, so I can’t be scared of anything. My dream in a City shirt is to win titles, to be happy and to make all Manchester City’s fans happy too. I’ve come here to help and to win titles.”
