3 of the Best: Who makes our list of top Man City Prem debutants?
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It’s the news that every Manchester City fan has been waiting to hear – Gabriel Jesus is now eligible to play.
And it couldn’t have come at a better time for Pep Guardiola’s men, who find themselves 10 points behind Chelsea in the Premier League, having just been brushed aside 4-0 by a dominant Everton side at Goodison Park.
If that wasn’t enough, up next for the Citizens is the visit of Tottenham Hotspur, who have won their last seven in all competitions.
With star striker Sergio Aguero having netted just one goal since the start of December, there’s every chance Jesus featuring at some stage on Saturday evening.
But how will he fare?
Ladbrokes News are taking a trip down memory lane to pick out three of the best City Premier League debuts. And where else can we start other than with their third all-time top scorer?
Sergio Aguero
Arriving for a fee of £38m from Atletico Madrid, it’s fair to say expectations surrounding the striker were high.
And he certainly didn’t disappoint.
Coming on in the 59th minute with City 1-0 up against Swansea, Sergio Aguero ran riot.
Within his first nine minutes in the Premier League, he grabbed his first goal. Three minutes later he set-up David Silva to make it 3-0, before rounding things off with an incredible strike in stoppage time.
Not only was this the best debut of any Man City player, you’d struggle to beat it in the history of the Premier League.
Craig Bellamy
Love him or hate him, there’s no denying Bellamy’s talent. His career total of transfer fee is over £52m, with the Citizens forking out some $14m for his services back in January 2009.
And talk about impacts.
As coincidence would have it, the Welshman’s first game for City came against his former club, Newcastle United.
Bellamy was in fact given the nod over the likes of Elano, Jo, Felipe Caicedo and Darius Vassell on that day, playing alongside then-record signing Robinho.
After City took the lead through Shaun Wright-Phillips in the first-half, the Magpies were pressing for an equaliser.
That was until the ball was fired in to Bellamy’s feet in the 77th minute, before the striker quickly turned and got his shot away from the edge of the box.
The speed in which the move happened left Newcastle goalkeeper Steve Harper stranded in the middle of his goal. And with Andy Carroll eventually pulling one back for the visitors, Bellamy’s effort turned out to be the winner.
Not a bad way to announce yourself.
Geovanni
He may not have been around for long, but former Barcelona man Geovanni certainly had fans drooling from the word ‘go’.
Arriving on a free from Brazilian outfit Cruzeiro back in the summer of 2007, the midfielder was thrown straight into the matchday squad for the opening day of the season away at West Ham.
And while his compatriot, Elano, took the honour of being the first Brazilian to represent the Citizens in the Premier League, the man in question was the first to score for the Manchester outfit.
He actually replaced his fellow countryman with 10 minutes to go, as City were holding on to a 1-0 lead. Very much under the cosh, the then-27-year-old was brought on for further stability.
Little did Sven-Goran Eriksson know at the time that this substitution would prove to be a pivotal one in the game.
With just three minutes remaining on the clock, the ball fell to Geovanni on the edge of the box, only for the midfielder to smash it into the bottom-left corner to ensure City claimed all three points.
To this day, he remains the only Brazilian to score on his debut for Man City.
That could all change this weekend though, with Jesus priced at just 9/5 to find the net against Spurs.
What do fans think of our selections? Can you think of a better debut?
Let us know in the comments section below!
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
