When Sunderland travel to Manchester City on the opening day of the Premier League season, Jan Kirchhoff will go head to head with former boss Pep Guardiola.
And the German midfielder simply can’t wait for an exciting new season to begin.
A major coup for the Citizens, Guardiola took charge on 1 July following the end of a three-year spell at Bayern Munich, during which time he managed Kirchhoff at the Allianz Arena.
Six weeks remain until the Premier League curtain-raiser at the Etihad Stadium, and speaking to safc.com the 25-year-old provided an insight into what the former Barcelona boss will bring to English football.
“I don’t want to talk too much about Pep because it’s a different team and it’s not mine to talk about, but I’ve said a lot of times that he is a great coach.
“He brings every club and every player he works with forward and I’m sure that’s what he will do at City.”
He continued: “A lot of eyes will be on this game and looking at him as he takes charge of his first game in Manchester.
“It is going to be a tough challenge for us and we need to bring our best performance to the pitch, but that is what the Premier League is all about and I’m really excited for the new season.
“There are a lot of good players coming here and a lot of great managers are in this league at the moment, so it is a really exciting time.”
Watch the full interview in the video below.