Gabriel Jesus hoping to inject new life into Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City

Manchester City FC

Gabriel Jesus posing with his Manchester City shirt after completing his £27m transfer

The hope at the Etihad was that by the time the Brazilian kid dubbed the new Neymar joined them in the January transfer window, Manchester City would be galloping away at the top and he could enjoy a relatively easy introduction to English football.

And after their 10-game winning start to the season, that was certainly the way it was looking.

But turn the clock forward five months and 19-year-old Jesus is now being seen not so much as an exciting accessory to a triumphant bandwagon but as City's saviour in a season veering off track; a player who can help to lift the squad, the fans and their title challenge.

On the face of it, a striker is the last thing Pep Guardiola needs at this moment because City's biggest problem is trying to keep goals out rather than score them.

The vulnerability of goalkeeper Claudio Bravo and the defenders in front of him have been well highlighted, but City's other problem has been turning their domination of games into goals.

They failed to score in the defeats at Tottenham, Liverpool and Everton, managed only one against Chelsea despite being the better team for the first hour, and were held to frustrating home draws by Everton, Southampton and Middlesbrough – three games when they enjoyed territorial superiority but failed to kill their opponents off.

Manchester City FC

Jesus in action during a Manchester City training session

For all their talent, City's frontrunners have failed to deliver on a consistent basis in Premier League games with Guardiola frequently admitting "we're not strong enough in both penalty areas".

Sergio Aguero has not scored against any of the top seven teams this season, Kevin De Bruyne has failed to register a League goal since September 17, Raheem Sterling has scored only once since September, David Silva has only one Premier League goal – the same tally as Leroy Sane in an injury-hit debut season.

Had City been able to turn their superiority in the first half-hour at Goodison Park into a lead, the whole dynamic of the game would have changed. But they conceded either side of half-time and promptly fell apart.

Guardiola will hope Jesus's eye for goal will improve the goal output while his prodigious work-rate off the ball will help City defend better as a team unit.

Bruno Petri, his youth coach, said: "He is a boy who is easy to speak with and work with and who is different to the others in training, always giving more than 100 per cent."

So Jesus finds himself with far greater expectations on his shoulders than first imagined. But after his meteoric rise to prominence in the last two years he is not fazed by the challenge.

Manchester City FC

Jesus hugging Vincent Kompany during a Manchester City training session

He helped Brazil win the Olympic goal last summer, was leading scorer for Palmeiras as they lifted their first Brazilian title since 1994, was voted player of the year and has scored five goals in his first six games for the national team.

Several Brazilian stars – Robinho, Elano and Jo Silva among them – have failed to last the course at the Etihad. But Jesus is determined not to fail even though he acknowledges it will be tough to adapt to the physical intensity of the English game.

"I've watched it and I notice it's a very hard, intense style of play," he said. "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."

His mother Vera Lucia, who has brought up Jesus and his three siblings on her own after his father died at a young age, has moved to Manchester to live with him.

She will continue to phone him before each match to wish him luck and check that he has polished off her "miraculous" banana and oat smoothie to help him avoid cramps.

Jesus says the decisive factor in his decision to snub offers from Europe's other top clubs and chose City was the chance to play under Guardiola. He says he shares the Spaniard's "24/7" passion for football and believes he can take his career to a new level.

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But Brazilian legend Rivaldo, the former Barcelona superstar, has warned City and their followers to give Jesus time to find his feet.

"He is young, only 19, and playing in England isn't easy," said the 2002 World Cup winner. "They need to be patient. He needs time to adapt to the cold and the intensity of the game there.

"But he is a player who I believe will make history in English football. From what I have seen of him he is a great player but, please, give him time."

That was the plan, but the goalposts have moved for City. They need him to hit the ground running.

MANCHESTER CITY are still hopeful of thrashing out a deal to keep highly-rated home-grown defender Tosin Adarabioyo at the Etihad.

Everton head a queue of clubs including Tottenham, Leicester and Celtic interested in signing the 19-year-old Manchester-born player who has come through City’s academy system but is out of contract this summer.

Initial talks over a new deal have stalled with sources admitting the two parties are “some way apart” on agreeing terms.

But Guardiola is understood to rate the 6ft 5ins Adarabiyio highly and remains hopeful of persuading the England Under-19 international to stay. If he leaves as a free agent, City would be entitled to a development compensation fee.

Adarabioyio, who has been at City since the age of five, made his first-team debut under Manuel Pellegrini in the FA Cup defeat at Chelsea last season and has since made three appearances under Guardiola this season, starting against Celtic in the Champions League and coming on as a sub in two other games.

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