Erling Haaland has explained why Manchester City is the perfect club for him as Pep Guardiola continues to ease his star striker back into the fold.

The 23-year-old, who remains joint-top scorer in the Premier League despite missing five matches before his comeback in midweek, has again been linked with Real Madrid.

Reports in the Spanish press claim that Haaland is unhappy in the North West — something Guardiola refuted ahead of City’s trip to Brentford on Monday.

‘I’m a football guy,’ he said. ‘It’s easy for my family to come over from Norway, right over the sea, really close.

Erling Haaland explained why he was happy to stay in Manchester despite exit rumours

Pep Guardiola refuted Spanish media claims ahead of Man City’s trip to Brentford on Monday

‘I like the vibes, the positivity from the fans when I meet them. The banter. The English people in general. I love to joke like them — we are similar in Norway, we like the banter.

‘People see us on the streets, Manchester United fans, we joke with each other. People leave me alone, to a certain degree.

‘I like it. If I’m in the shop I can joke with people and it’s nice.’

Haaland is set for another appearance down at Brentford after almost two months out with a foot injury that threw up unexpected complications. His cameo, lasting 19 minutes, in the victory over Burnley came around three weeks later than he had anticipated returning.

But City have now welcomed back all of their major players, including the reborn Kevin De Bruyne, and believe they are ready for an assault on three trophies as they again attempt to make history.

‘It’s taken months to digest last season as it was so long, so many games,’ Haaland told City’s official podcast. ‘We came back to pre-season and it was like, “Are we back already?”

‘Now we are getting more focused and we’re coming. I want to recreate some of the things we did last season.’

Guardiola admitted he is unsure where contract negotiations with Haaland stand as City attempt to tie the Norwegian down beyond his current deal, which expires in 2027.

Guardiola says that he must ignore tactics employed by Real Madrid to unsettle his stars

‘What do you think, that we don’t want Erling to stay here for a decade?’ Guardiola said. ‘Yes, we want him (to stay) for a long, long time in this club.

‘We are happy to have him. Hopefully he is happy to be with us. That is what we know. The rest I don’t know.’

Guardiola is also alert to the tactics employed by Real — who look set to land Kylian Mbappe — to unsettle his stars. ‘You have to ignore it,’ he added. ‘I know the reality in this world. It doesn’t bother me at all.

‘If the players are focused on what they have to do, the rest is not important. It’s normal that Real Madrid wants the best players, and Barcelona, or in Italy, or PSG, it’s normal. It’s not a surprise.’