Manchester City manager Mark Hughes believes new recruit Vincent Kompany is “one of the outstanding talents in Europe”.

Kompany, who can play either in defence or in midfield, has signed a four-year deal after arriving from Hamburg for an undisclosed fee, believed to be about £6m.

The 22-year-old Belgium international could make his debut against West Ham on Sunday at Eastlands providing the paperwork is completed in time.

Apart from being part of the senior squad, Kompany also played for his country in the Olympics and Hughes is delighted to have the player on board.

“Vincent is one of the outstanding talents in Europe,” Hughes said.

“He understands the ambition of the club. He understands where we want to take the club.

“We want to be a young, vibrant team with energy and technical ability. He comes into the category of the kind of young player we are trying to attract.”

Kompany is likely to be employed in a defensive midfield role as City aim to recover from two defeats early in the season, which exposed their frailties.

They went down 4-2 to Aston Villa at the weekend following the shock first leg defeat by Danish side FC Midtjylland in the UEFA Cup.

Kompany will be expected to tighten things up and Hughes said: “The thing I like about him is his flexibility to play exceptionally well in a number of positions.

“That will help the team as the Premier League is a long hard season and there will be injuries unfortunately.

“We will need players who are adaptable and Vincent will bring us that quality.”

Kompany admitted the prospect of playing in the top flight instead of the Bundesliga was a challenge he could not resist.

The move was sealed swiftly as he played for Hamburg only last weekend, helping them secure a draw against Bayern Munich.

“The chance came at the right moment - this is a club with a lot of ambition,” Kompany said.

“That helped me make my decision and I am looking forward to playing in the Premier League.

“I just had a good feeling about this move. When you feel they are dynamic people at City, who know a lot about football, you realise you are in a good environment to improve your game.”

Kompany believes his experience at international level will help him settle in England.

“I have been through a lot of things already, playing big games in front of big crowds, so I do not think it will be a problem adapting,” he said.

“The higher the level, the more challenges are put in front of you. The season in the Premier League is long and you need everyone. I just want to help the team, that is what it is all about.”

City will be without Nedum Onuoha after he suffered a knee injury playing for England Under-21s in midweek while Richard Dunne is again ruled out through suspension.
Hughes is also down in numbers in attack with Valeri Bojinov, Benjani and Darius Vassell all injured while Jo remains absent as he has been on Olympic duty with Brazil.

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