RONALD KOEMAN in his own words . . .

How important is it to get a good result at City?

We know we have a tough start in the league. In the first six games, we play three difficult ones away.

What type of players have you bought this summer?

What you try to do is find a really good balance in your team of age and experience. We brought a really young goalkeeper [Jordan Pickford] in and he is doing fantastic. Michael Keane can be one of the best central defenders in the Premier League and along with Sandro Ramirez and Davy Klaassen we have brought in young players with a future. With Wayne [Rooney] and Gylfi [Sigurdsson] it is about experience. Wayne won a lot of titles and that experience is really important for a team who want to win titles.

Is closing the window when the season starts a good idea?

That is really difficult. Maybe in England they like to finish it when the Premier League starts, but what will happen in the rest of Europe?

You had to wait to sign Gylfi. How much do you value him?

Chairman Bill [Kenwright] was always so calm. He said: ‘I will do the deal but we need to be patient.’ Sometimes it takes longer than you like. We are delighted to get Sigurdsson. We have tried to bring in a player who brings productivity to the team, a really important player for set-plays. But I don’t know if he will be involved against City.