There is no doubt Gabriel Jesus has been a smash hit since he joined Manchester City in January of 2017.

The 20-year-old had scored 28 goals in 83 games for Brazilian side Palmeiras, but he adjusted to life in the Premier League with ease and has netted 13 times in his first 19 games.

He's also found the net six times in eleven internationals and for a young man to challenge Sergio Aguero's place in any team, he has to be special.

But how did City fend off competition from Europe's elite to sign the wonderkid?

While we know the Citizens have endless amounts of cash for big-money transfers, the X-factor they found in the summer of 2016 is Pep Guardiola.

The former Barcelona boss was desperate to secure Jesus' signature and went the extra mile to convince the young striker that the Etihad Stadium was the best place for him.

But, Jesus revealed it was one phone call that changed everything.

Speaking exclusively in the December 2017 issue of FourFourTwo, he said: “Guardiola called me up and said I would be a very important part of his project.

“This obviously made me feel wanted and was a big factor in helping me pick City as my next club. There had been a lot of clubs interested in signing me at the time, but the one I felt most confident in was City.”

Even though Guardiola had Aguero as his main man, he had no qualms about making Jesus promises of regular football in the City side, something that the Spaniard has followed through on.

When Jesus first came to England, Guardiola was so excited to meet his newest recruit that he asked Jesus to skip heading to his hotel and meet him at the training ground there and then.

“When I landed in Manchester, I came straight to the training ground – I didn’t even go to my hotel,” the striker says. “He wanted me there. It was 6pm and training had been in the morning, but Pep waited for me to arrive. I realised he’s a different kind of manager.”

Jesus has already begun repaying the £27 million City shelled out on him, but the best is surely yet to come,