Vincent Kompany is the captain who doubles up as an eloquent ambassador and the centre-back can be a spokesman for Manchester City.
It was entirely typical that he was one of the first to welcome Wilfried Bony to the Etihad Stadium when his signing was conformed last month.
Yet it might not have been the altruistic gesture it seemed.
“I rate him, I really do,” Kompany said.
He has first-hand experience of Bony’s prowess as it was the Ivorian who gave Swansea City the lead at Manchester in October and he scored twice against them in Wales in January 2014.
Manuel Pellegrini’s team could still beat Swansea, but the logic in signing their most potent threat is evident.
Now, 38 days after the £25 million (Dh141m) deal was announced, Bony could make his delayed debut for City.
“We will see if he will be in the starting 11,” coach Pellegrini said.
The forward has been a continental champion, helping Ivory Coast win the African Cup of Nations, before representing his new employers.
He belatedly started training with his new teammates on Monday.
Perhaps even that, from Newcastle United’s perspective, was still too soon as they, like City, have conceded three goals in two games to 26-year-old Bony.
Yet, if Newcastle are among his favourite opponents, their visit merely serves as the appetiser this week as Bony has been open about his wish to play Uefa Champions League football.
Barcelona’s arrival in midweek for their last-16 tie explained why he swapped Swansea for Manchester and, indirectly, also illustrated the reason that City was so keen to sign him.
As part of their punishment for failing Financial Fair Play, City are restricted to 16 non-home-grown players in their Champions League squad.
Bony’s arrival meant Stevan Jovetic was demoted from the European party – a decision he said “killed” him – which could prompt the Montenegrin’s departure and showed their respective positions in the striking pecking order.
Pellegrini’s preference for perming from a pool of four strikers is pronounced, even if he is limited to a trio in Europe.
In Bony, he has argued that he has completed a quartet that was reduced at the end of the summer transfer window.
The Chilean sees him as the closest comparison to the departed Alvaro Negredo, a mobile target man with a scoring touch.
“Bony is replacing Negredo,” Pellegrini said. “He is not exactly the same player but, yes, he has a lot of similar things. He is similar to Alvaro Negredo, more than Edin [Dzeko] or Kun [Sergio Aguero] or Jovetic.”
He said Bony can slot straight into the side.
“I think it will be easy for him to settle,” Pellegrini said. “He plays a lot of years here in England, he is the player that scores the most goals [in the Premier League] during the last year. He is the perfect player for our squad.”
The broader question is whether Bony’s signing will bring about systemic change.
“We try always to play with two strikers,” said Pellegrini, who added that the newcomer is capable of forming many a fine partnership. “He can play with Aguero, he can play with Dzeko, he can play with Jovetic and he can play with [David] Silva.”
Yet while Pellegrini usually played 4-4-2 last season, he has currently favoured 4-2-3-1, partly out of necessity when he has had fewer forwards as each has had an injury and Dzeko has not scored since September.
Silva, meanwhile, has produced the best goalscoring form of his City career in a central position. While Pellegrini outlined his many options, given the top scorer Aguero’s status as an untouchable, the coach’s decision boils down to a question of whether he will omit a midfielder to accommodate Bony and shift Silva to the flank.
City’s emphatic 4-1 win at Stoke City makes it harder to omit anyone and ensured their mid-season acquisition still has an opportunity to play a part in the title race.
As it is, the Premier League's top scorer in 2014 has the chance to influence the destination of the trophy in 2015.
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