SEBASTIEN HALLER MAY be new to the Premier League, but the former Eintracht Frankfurt forward knows enough about his new home to understand that facing Manchester City just isn’t much fun most of the time.
West Ham splashed the cash to land the 25-year-old in a club-record deal worth £40 million (€42.6m / $50m) plus add-ons in hopes of boosting their attack.
Having scored 14 times in 27 Bundesliga matches last season, Haller has a track-record of bringing goals at the club level, but with his side set to open Premier League campaign against Pep Guardiola’s league champions, he’s hoping he can just get a touch on the ball.
“What a sh*t game to start with!” he joked to the Mirror. “I go there for a lot of money, now first game City! Why?
“There are better games to build your confidence. Hopefully I will touch the ball! We will see.”
City finished 46 points clear of West Ham in the Premier League last season - winning both games between the two sides
Guardiola’s side have netted 17 times in their last four visits to London Stadium, and Haller is under no illusions over what his new club will have to do to find a win in their opener.
“What can I say?” he added. “Everyone needs to be prepared. They are the Champions from the League, the Cup, from even the Cup that I don’t know the name of.
So yes, it will be difficult. We will need to make a crazy game. It is probably best for the team to get a game like that because we will need to be focused 100 per cent.
West Ham finished 10th in the Premier League last season and will be looking to make a push for a European place this time out, while City are defending a title they won by just one point over Liverpool.
The Manchester outfit also claimed both the FA Cup and Carabao Cup, sweeping England’s domestic trophies in historic fashion.
Following Saturday’s showdown the two sides won’t face each other again in the league until February of next year.
This guy seems a whole lot wiser than he wants the plebs to believe. Doing the old trick of “sure we’ll be lucky to keep it kicked out to them” I can’t see many pros falling for this.
Some attitude that. Think they could do a job on City but not if there going round like that
@Ollie Watson: He’s made himself sound like a right fool with that comment, not knowing the name of the cup!
@Stephen Lyons: oh no he didn’t know the name of the Carabao Cup. What a fool! He was being honest and also lowering expectations that the big money striker would have an immediate impact against the champions. If Pukki can score against Liverpool he can score against City but he is adapting to a new country
@Stephen Lyons: ah don’t think half of England knows the proper name with all the sponsors and that
@Dave O Keeffe: Could have just said nothing at all
@Stephen Lyons: He sounds like a bit of fun. I don’t think anybody is questioning his commitment. I’d say there’s plenty of established premier league players who don’t know it’s the Carabao Cup.
@Ollie Watson: He’s just taking a bit of pressure off, strikers are confidence players and he’s not letting himself be affected by what will probably be a very tough game
@DavidGoldsFarther: He is doing brilliant so far! And as said above most haven’t a clue what that cups called. As for spelling it!
City are close on the best team in Europe. Nice to see a guy being reasonably honest instead of peddling out the usual cliched rhetoric.
@Tom Bout: Jesus and Rodri Euro champ pushers and shirt tuggers!
@Paul Furey: “Rodrigo warned as he goes through the back of Wilshere. That one hurt. “That’s two now”, Mike Dean tells the City man.”
Here we go again………………..
He wasn’t wrong in fairness 5-0