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breadth of City’s involvement on so many fronts always thwarted his chances of recovery.

“Clubs like City want to win the Premier League, the FA Cup, the League Cup and the Champions League. They’re involved in everything so I didn’t have as much time to train there as I did with Swansea,” he said.

“You need to be at 100 per cent at a club like City and, sadly for me, it wasn’t possible. “But I don’t regret it. I am always improving and I was working with very good players at City.

“I learned a lot from guys like Yaya Toure and David Silva and I hope this can help me and help Swansea this season.” Bony will not be the only new recruit boss Paul Clement will send into battle today – Renato Sanches, an eye-catching loan signing from Bayern Munich, will also feature against Newcastle.

The 20-year-old managed just six starts for Bayern last season after a move worth a potential £60m from Benfica a year ago.

Clement said: “I think there will have to be a certain amount of patience we show with him, given what’s happened to him in the last season. But he’s going to be hungry to do really well this season. It’s World Cup year in 2018 and that must be a massive motivation for him.”