Erling Haaland's Man City arrival presents Pep Guardiola with familiar challenge

Erling Haaland's signing is a fantastic piece of business by Manchester City.

And not since Didier Drogba arrived at Chelsea from Marseille in 2004 has there been a more exciting signing of a classic centre-forward by a Premier League team. Haaland reminds me of the Ivorian in many ways — he is big, strong, powerful, single-minded and scores goals.

And if he comes out of English football with a similar trophy count to Drogba and has the same impact on his team, he will be more than happy with everything he has achieved. I can’t lavish any higher praise on Haaland and I’m excited to see where the move to the Etihad — 22 years after his dad, Alfie, joined City (which makes it 25-odd years since I chinned him in training at Nottingham Forest, more of which later) — takes him.

There’s no doubt the Premier League will be a leveller because he will be up against quality teams week in, week out. But in a side which creates seven or eight chances a game and has routinely posted 4-0s and 5-0s without a central striker, his addition makes Pep Guardiola’s men overwhelming favourites to retain their title next season.

There’s no doubt that at 6ft plus, being a real athlete and having a real hunger for goals, he will be a massive success at City over a number of years. The only, not negative, but not 100 per cent positive, is that he can be a little over-cocky at times and I wonder if that’s something Guardiola will look to hammer out of him.

That cockiness and the confidence of a Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who he almost seems to model himself on as a fellow monster and machine, will be tested now. Because he is still only a baby, he has plenty to learn, and he’s up against, not a great generation of central defenders, but better and more