Homesickness no longer an issue as speedy Navas settles in well at Manchester City

By Chris Wheeler for the Daily Mail

Published: 18:00 EDT, 23 July 2013 | Updated: 18:00 EDT, 23 July 2013

For a Spaniard whose career has been hampered by chronic homesickness, a hotel thousands of miles away in Hong Kong was  perhaps an appropriate place for Jesus Navas to demonstrate that he is ready to begin a new chapter in his life.

There were times when straying too far from hometown Los Palacios y Villafranca in southern Spain would give Navas a panic attack.

He joined his local club Sevilla at the age of 15, but opted out of pre-season tours and once had to be collected from a training camp an hour away by his father and brother.

New chapter: Jesus Navas is settling in well to City life having suffered from homesickness in the past

Call-ups to the national team were also turned down due to a fear of travelling before he underwent  counselling for the problem and became both a world and European champion with Spain.

Even so, when Navas rejected a move to the Premier League with Arsenal three years ago it seemed like he would never leave until  Manchester City and their new  manager Manuel Pellegrini came calling this summer.

Satisfied that he had achieved all he could with Sevilla after 10 seasons and two UEFA Cups and ready, finally, to set up home somewhere else, the lightning quick winger agreed to a £14.9million move.

Yesterday, sat in the Hong Kong hotel where City are staying for this week’s Barclays Asia Trophy, Navas looked like a man who is comfortable with his decision.

New boys: City signings Alvaro Negredo (left), Stevan Jovetic (centre) and Navas will complete in the Barclays Asia Trophy

‘It was a few years ago now,’ he said through an interpreter. ‘It’s all in the past and I’ve moved on, otherwise I wouldn’t be here. I’m ready for this.

‘All everyone keeps telling me is that the weather in Manchester is terrible, very different from Seville.

‘I have a wife and young baby, and having them with me in England will help me settle.

‘My teammates will help a lot as well, but this is something that I really want. I’m here to play football and achieve really big things. So that is driving me to adapt here to the football and the culture. I plan to learn the language quickly.’

On the interest from Arsenal, he added: ‘That was back in 2010 when Sevilla won the Spanish Cup. I was still winning things and achieving things there.

‘But we haven’t won anything for two or three years and I feel now is the right time to move on because I’m ambitious and I always demand 100 per cent from myself.’

Climate change: Navas is used to sunny Seville and will have to acclimatise to rainy Manchester

The 27-year-old didn’t know it when he signed, but he has since been joined by his Sevilla teammate Alvaro Negredo, a move that will also help him to settle on and off the pitch.

Navas’s searing pace and Negredo’s finishing prowess will be a key  ingredient in the offensive 4-3-3  formation favoured by Pellegrini, the Chilean coach whose experience at Villarreal, Real Madrid and Malaga has added to the Spanish infusion at City this summer.

With Pellegrini’s other new signing, Stevan Jovetic, City have spent nearly £100m in the transfer market — an ominous sign of the club’s attacking intent.

‘Obviously I know Negredo well and I’m very pleased he’s following me to City,’ said Navas.

‘For me, it was very clear what I wanted to do. I wanted to join City, and it was the same for Negredo. We both made up our own minds. We were both convinced that City is a great club to join. It’s going to make the transition easier. Not only do we have a good relationship on the pitch, we have a good one off it.

Spanish influence: Navas believes his fellow Spaniards can have a positive impact on the Premier League

‘We want to try to recreate the  partnership in the Premier League but really it’s a team effort.

‘The Spanish influence can be very important, but it’s not all about that. There are many great players here and if it all comes together we can do great things.

‘Hopefully Manuel Pellegrini can get the team together and make a success of it. His coaching style fits with me very well. I believe my main quality is my speed and that can help to open games up. Hopefully I can help set up goals like I did at Sevilla.

‘It’s a big challenge, but I have a lot of experience and I’ve played a lot of big games already in my career. 

‘Hopefully that is going to help me embrace it.’ 

Jesus Navas was speaking at the launch of Manchester City’s new Nike away strip during the club’s tour of Hong Kong.

HOW PELLEGRINI IS BUILDING A SPANISH GOAL MACHINE

Manuel Pellegrini has already invested heavily in his new team this summer, but could his signings signal a new style for Man City?

NEW WING MAN
Jesus Navas hugs the touchline so City might stretch the play rather than play through the middle. Navas (map 1) will spend more time out wide than the likes of Samir Nasri (2) and David Silva (3). He played on the wing for Sevilla so should link up well with his old teammate Alvaro Negredo.

TARGET THE FOX IN THE BOX
Negredo was prolific for Sevilla last year, scoring 25 goals in 36 La Liga appearances. All of his goals came from inside the box, so City have a real poacher to replace the outgoing Carlos
Tevez. Tevez scored from a variety of positions, but Negredo prospered from cutbacks from the byline, so City will want to get behind defences to supply their new striker.

PLAYING AT PACE
Navas is very fast, plays high up the pitch and loves to attack defenders, so City could look to exploit this. Last season he made more dribbles and crosses than Silva and Nasri put together (see table). His direct play could be the key to unlocking Negredo’s goal-scoring potential.