Manchester derby: Ahead of tomorrow's Manchester derby at Eastlands, new City favourite Elano tells Alex Belloswhy he loves life in the Premier League.

It is unlikely that Brazil's manager Dunga would claim, as Sven-Goran Eriksson did last week, that he has "never had a player like Elano" when explaining his famous reluctance to vary from 4-4-2 at international level. Dunga, after all, has Kaka and Ronaldinho to play with when he gets his chalkboard out.

But Manchester City's Elano is now more of a fixture in Brazil's midfield than either of his much-vaunted midfield compatriots and, after two games of the Premier League season, is looking like one of the best buys of a busy summer.

"Manchester is beautiful," says Elano, who arrived a fortnight ago at Eastlands. "I'm very happy to be here. With two wins in two games it has been an extra special time. I'm very, very happy."

As are City fans after the 26-year-old's sharp runs undid West Ham's defence last Saturday, and after he set up Michael Johnson's goal in the 1-0 victory over Derby on Wednesday evening.

It has been some summer for Elano Ralph Blumer. A month ago he was in the Brazil team that won the Copa America final against an Argentina featuring Carlos Tevez. A week or so later, his agent took a call from Eriksson. A fortnight after that, he made his Premier League debut at Upton Park.

"I was on holiday in Brazil. My agent was negotiating with a few clubs. This one came through really fast. There were some other offers but I couldn't keep waiting. It was all done and dusted very quickly," Elano says.

One suspects the speed of the deal had something to do with Elano's desire to avoid another Ukrainian winter at Shakhtar Donetsk, where he had been for two and a half and became the first player from the Ukrainian league to play for Brazil. Games in Donetsk were often played at -15 Celsius, and the fact he prospered there shows a tough side to the former Santos player. "I have adapted well here," he says of City. "My head is really focused. There were a lot of difficulties in the Ukraine, such as the cold, but I adapted there, too."

In Brazil's midfield he has also proved adaptable, a must for anyone playing for the same country as Kaka and Ronaldinho. While skilful, he has neither the grace nor technique of the former, nor the flamboyance nor creativity of the latter.

What he does offer, however, is speed, application and versatility. At Santos they claim he played every position except goalkeeper. He arrived as a striker but established himself as a midfield utility player able to run up and down the wing, push forward from central midfield or pull back and mark. For a Brazilian he has little ego - he will never dribble when he does not have to - and his dedication to the team cause made him a crowd favourite.

Elano's solidity and tirelessness has also made him a favourite with Dunga, a formerly solid and tireless World Cup-winning captain.

With both Kaka and Ronaldinho absent from the Copa America, Elano was an important presence and has to a certain extent come to symbolise Dunga's renovation of Brazil. That same adaptability has also found a home at Eastlands.

"I don't mind where I am playing. I find it easy to play in several positions," Elano says. "(In England) the game is very physical and luckily I can be very agile. I try to touch the ball as fast as I can. I'm learning a lot. I'm working well with the team, getting a good playing relationship with Michael Johnson and Rolando Bianchi."

Even though he speaks no English he says that communication between the players and the coach is not a problem.

"With the Spanish and the Italians I can more or less understand," he says. He has better understanding of Eriksson, who has coached in Portugal and speaks Portuguese. "He is always trying to help me," he says of the Swede.

Elano has barely been in Manchester a fortnight, and is currently living in a hotel with his wife Alexandra and their 20-month-old daughter, Maria Teresa.

There has been no time to look for a home, start English lessons or even socialise (although he has been in touch with Gilberto Silva at Arsenal and Lucas Leiva at Liverpool). He says, however, that there is great camaraderie at Eastlands.

"Things are going well on the pitch, thank God. When this is happening things go well off the pitch, too."

Elano is from a small town in the rural interior of Sao Paulo state, and he started off in the junior divisions of a local club, Guarani. His break came when, aged 19, he joined Santos, Pele's old club. Elano was part of a remarkable generation of young players who brought Santos two league titles, in 2002 and 2004, the club's most glorious period since Pele's day.

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