Sergio Aguero has taken to Premier League football without so much as a break in his stride. Arriving at a cost of £38m, a lot was expected of the 23-year-old Argentinian, but even the most optimistic of Manchester City fans could not have predicted quite such an emphatic impact.
The former Atletico Madrid forward has made an incredible start to life at City, scoring eight goals in five games, from which City - genuine title contenders at last - have taken an impressive 13 points. Aguero - nicknamed 'Kun' since childhood - is the brightest of City's glut of gifted forwards, and possesses the kind of superstar quality that the club's billionaire owners have been looking for. His intricate link-up play with David Silva, Samir Nasri and Edin Dzeko has been glorious to watch, and his finishing has been lethal.
Aguero is characterised by acceleration and strength. He is stocky and resilient and is a predatory finisher and an intelligent and creative presence in and around the box. The Diego Maradona comparisons that have been attached to numerous talented Argentinian forwards are especially pertinent in Aguero's case. He is, after all, Diego's son-in-law, having married his daughter Giannina. Man City boss Roberto Mancini, however, reckons he's more similar to Brazil legend Romario. On current form he is more than a match for both.
When he made his professional bow at the age of 15 and 35 days for Independiente, Aguero became the youngest player to debut in the Argentinian first division. Fittingly, it was Maradona who previously held the record. Four years later in May 2006, Atletico Madrid broke their transfer record for the young prodigy, paying in excess of £18m to take him to the Spanish capital.
Aguero was Atletico's talisman and one of La Liga's star performers. During five seasons in Spain he was ever-present for Atletico, scoring 102 goals in 234 games, and winning the Europa League in 2010. He featured at three FIFA World Youth Championships for Argentina as a teenager, but his move to Spain allowed him to make the step up to the full international side. He made his debut in September 2006 in a friendly against Brazil played at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium, and he has gone on to score 13 times in 32 games, including goals at the 2010 World Cup and the 2011 Copa America.
He signed a new contract with Atletico in January of this year, but he was outgrowing the club, and announced his desire to leave the Vicente Calderon just four months later. By July Aguero was a Manchester City player, brought in as a replacement for disillusioned countryman Carlos Tevez. Rather than a replacement, however, Aguero looks like an upgrade.
With two goals and an assist in just over 30 minutes, his City debut was a sign of things to come. The Sky Blues were only 1-0 up when Aguero emerged from the bench in the 59th minute of their season-opener against newly-promoted Swansea City at the Etihad Stadium. Although widely tipped to require a period of adaptation to the Premier League, Aguero scored their second nine minutes after coming on, before teeing up David Silva for their third and adding their fourth in stoppage time. Purring with confidence and completely undaunted by his unfamiliar surroundings, the Argentinian has not let up.
The Premier League has a new superstar.
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