Erling Haaland to become captain, Rodri and Phil Foden update, striker regrets – Every Word from Pep Guardiola’s West Ham preview (Part Two)

Manchester City travel to the London Stadium in their final Premier League encounter before the first international break of the season.

The reigning English top-flight champions have started their season in fine form, recording two wins from two having dismissed of Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on the opening weekend, and Ipswich Town at the Etihad Stadium.

Attentions now turn towards a clash against Julien Lopetegui’s West Ham, hoping to retain their 100 per cent record into the first international stoppage of the new campaign, and send a clear sign of intent to their title rivals.

With updates on transfer plans, Erling Haaland’s Manchester City future, and fitness developments, here is everything Pep Guardiola had to say in part two of his preview ahead of the trip to face The Hammers!

On Erling Haaland’s role/standing in the Manchester City dressing room

“A little bit higher; he knows the environment, the players, how we live, it’s normal, it’s a process. If he stays longer, he will be one of the captains of the team, that is normal. But the impact, I’ve said many times, since he arrived it’s been really, really good.

“He’s always happy, and positive, and an incredible, incredible… On the pitch it’s not necessary to talk about, off the pitch it was a surprise for all of us.”

On whether he sees Erling Haaland as a leader for Manchester City

“Yeah, he has to, absolutely. When you play all the games, and you are so active on the pitch, there are leaders that maybe don’t talk much and they are leaders, behaving on the pitch, and when there’s a big, big problem, they intervene.

“Sometimes you don’t need the armband to be a leader, and step by step it’s going to happen. It’s already the third season together; if he stays longer, at the end he will be one of the senior people and players in the team, so it’s naturally going to happen.”

On Erling Haaland’s relationship with younger players

“It’s really good; everybody has good moments, bad moments. He’s really good, always positive, always happy. I’m not in the dressing room with the players, I see them sometimes in the canteen, sometimes on the pitch, but the relation between them is extraordinary.

“I said last season and this season; the group of players is unbelievable – it’s one of our strengths. The respect, how they push, how they train, how they compete, they are friends most of them. That is really good.”

On Manchester City’s low spend this summer, and rivals spending a lot

“No, sometimes there are situations for age, many years you have to be more active in the transfer market, and some years it’s not necessary. We believe and I give my opinion to the club, and the club makes their opinion as well and together we take a decision.

“Sometimes maybe in the future you have to invest more but right now it is what it is, but I’m still confident with the team we have and that’s why we decide to do what we have done.”

On whether Rodri is ready for Saturday

“I think he’s going to travel, but I don’t know if he’s going to be ready. I don’t know.”

On working for one game a week – how has it been, before the crazy schedule

“We trained, I would say more, and higher in many aspects because we have more time, more days. When it happens for Brentford, Champions League, Arsenal, Carabao Cup, and all the physios that we have to try recovery, try to remember concepts in these time of weeks and hopefully they can be healthy.

“That’s the only thing I’m concerned; be fit, the players are tired but be fit. This is the only thing I’m concerned about this season. The rest? We’ll do it again.”

On whether he feels Manchester City have a big enough squad for the extra games this season

“Yeah. At the end, Julian (Alvarez) left, Sergio (Gomez) left, and (Ilkay) Gundo came back, and Savinho, plus we have Nico (O’Reilly), we have (James) Macca, so it’s fine. I’m really pleased with the squad.

“I know apparently that if we don’t sign 10 players and we don’t do anything, it will be weaker. I don’t have this feeling! If the opponents feel it, it’s fine. But I don’t have that feeling.”

On whether you have discussed Lucas Paqueta as a potential signing

“I never said that. (Is he? Was he?) Ok. Well, I saw in the newspapers that we can potentially have 100 players every season, that is the truth. Of course he’s an interesting player, but always was a West Ham player and hopefully he can get out of this situation for the benefit of him.”

On Lucas Paqueta controlling games and being a key player

“Absolutely. He’s an exceptional player, he can play in different roles, but not just him; Kudus last season and in the last game of the season, the problems they create. Bowen, Antonio is a guarantee, and they bought a lot of players, physical in the middle.

“When you see the squad and the four players up front, plus Summerville, and the other players they brought too, it’s quite impressive the squad they have, and the potential that they have.”

On integrating Ilkay Gundogan into a busy season as he already knows the system

“He was not in our plans. We didn’t think he could leave Barcelona, this is the truth. I never, never thought about that. It happened in one day, and in three days, four days, we did it. We know that player and we spoke in the last press conference that 90 per cent of the questions before Ipswich Town was Ilkay.

“We knew that he would be immediate, he knows perfectly the roles, the good players don’t need much time to adapt and the situation that we have, and because I like these type of players a lot, so OK.

“If we can, the financial issue between Barcelona and Man City, it can happen. So let’s go, let’s do it.”

On whether Manchester City would have looked for somebody else if they didn’t sign Ilkay Gundogan

“No, I don’t think so… I know the schedule is tight, but at the same time… I lived an experience in the past, when I think I was in Barcelona and I have – maybe I was not the manager but I was there – four, five, six ACLs, a lot of injuries, maybe 14 or 15 players available plus the Academy. Few, few.

“We won La Liga, we won the Championship, and they played unbelievable. When that happens, everyone is so focussed. When you have 23 or 24 players, and just 16 play, you don’t have 23 or 24 players, you have 16. And sometimes I prefer to have players I trust a lot and players that are maybe there for numbers, but you don’t rely a lot and maybe don’t get minutes.

“When that happens, I don’t like it. It’s so difficult for them, don’t get minutes and don’t play, it’s so difficult, having a good contract and a good place, but they want to play, they are professionals, and want to do their job. And I have players that can play in three or four positions, like everybody knows, and I like this because they are intelligent, and it’s fine.

“But if it doesn’t work, and you have problems, OK, we have the transfer window and maybe we can go there and in nothing, nothing, the season will be over, because the season flies every season, more and more. That’s why.

“I know the feeling, the people say, ‘No it’s weaker and they have to sign’ – I don’t have that feeling, I like it, and I like what the club has done for me as a manager in the transfer window.”

On whether he thinks the Manchester City squad is now stronger

“We will see. I’m really pleased with Gundo and Savinho here, with McAtee being back, and Nico making a step up. I like it. But if it’s stronger, it depends on our performance. So far? I’m happy. I didn’t expect to play at the level we’ve played so far, and the conditions that we started later than everyone else, after winning it’s always more difficult.

“We will have lows, but I’m pretty sure the players and the mentality that they have we will rise, and at the end of the season I will tell you it’s better than the previous season? I don’t know.”

On Phil Foden and whether he expects it to be a lengthy absence

“No. Hopefully after the international break he’ll be ready… Playing against Chelsea 45 minutes, and after he didn’t feel good, and we made tests, he feels good, and much better, but still he doesn’t feel perfect and we prefer to give that time to recover, be fine, and after when he comes back from the international break, be ready for the next games.”

On Erling Haaland and his personality changing on the pitch

“Yeah, it’s going to happen naturally, gradually. As much playing, and I think he has the abilities to do it. His ability, his strength, and potential and power in direction to the goal, he’s a goal machine; please don’t change! Never, ever change that! Not adding something to lose that, that is not the point.

“But of course, he’s involved because we talked about the situation and what is happening in games and we can do better. But the most important thing is I have the feeling that this season he feels… When he arrived and came from Dortmund with a lot of problems with injuries, and we struggled from last season, struggling a bit from success in the past and this season, I have the feeling that he’s better than that in terms.

“I don’t want to say better than ever, because he scored 50 or 60 goals in the first season, so being better is so difficult. But finishing training sessions and staying on the pitch to work more on the finishing, crossing, headers, and I spoke with physios and the other ones and they say, ‘He feels perfect, doesn’t have any niggles when in the first season he had a lot. He’s always smiling’.

“So, of course, one game a week and the tiredness will come, the winter comes, and now he’s going to Kazakhstan to play in the Nations League with Norway, 10 hour flight, 10 hour coming back, and this kind of stuff always accumulates and that’s why we have to be careful.

“But so far, at the end of the tour in the States he started to come back to be focussed on training, and it’s really good.”

On Erling Haaland being in a better place

“I have that feeling, yeah. We talked about that. Focus in these years as a professional, focus completely on the game, and everything is so demanding. He knows it. Every three days, every season is one more year in your body.

“But as much as he’s happy and enjoying training, enjoying scoring goals, and have the mentality to be better and better, always it never disappears that, never disappear. When you are, ‘OK, I have done it, it doesn’t matter’, after that it will decrease his performance.

“But still this season I see he’s there; I’m not saying performing well or good, because performing well I believe always depends on many factors, or himself, or his mates, the opponents, many things. These players, ‘Ah they play good!’ Why? Tell me a reason why they play good; there are many, many factors that involve in playing good or bad. I’m not saying about that.

“I’m saying that be ready, be still that you want to score more goals, you want to win another Premier League, you want to be again in the final stages of the Champions League, or FA Cups, or whatever, and be a better player. And what he has done so far, maybe it’s because we’ve had long weeks, be careful because we have had more weeks this month, so you have time to recover and go home, and do it. And after it’s every three or four days, three or four days, three or four days, we will see.”