Jesus Navas cannot wait to show Manchester United a clean pair of heels in today's derby

Jesus Navas is in a hurry. It is why, after just two seasons without a trophy at Seville, following years of success, he decided to quit to join Manchester City. The 27 year-old simply could not wait any longer. 

It is also why Navas once ignored the advice of the sports medical science staff at the Spanish club to do a bit more work on a running machine.

Navas was so quick that the machine broke. "It came to a sudden stop," City's winger recalls. "I was only supposed to be doing 12 minutes worth, because in pre-season you take things steady. I took it to 15 minutes, which was the maximum, and it just stopped.

There was no smoke but I had to grab onto the side to make sure I didn't fall." Navas is said to run 100m in a startling 10.8 seconds - "we used to do tests at Seville and I did come out the quickest," he says - and while he has not yet been timed by City, the evidence of the naked eye suggests that the Spanish international is not only one of the fastest at the club but also in the Premier League.

Navas has also added a new dimension to City since his arrival for pounds 14.9?million: natural width allied to that devastating speed. "I think it's good to have different ways to break teams down. I can provide width and speed to get around the back."

The problem is that teams tend to defend even deeper when they face City. Navas admits it has "been hard to break down those teams" this term, and appreciates that the club's performances since Manuel Pellegrini's arrival and their pounds 90?million spending spree have been "mixed".

Today City face Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium and will expect David Moyes's side to go toe-to-toe with them. United, they hope, will not drop off. Navas has experienced such derbies before, a veteran of the "very intense" city rivalry between Sevilla and Real Betis, and is aware of the importance of this encounter.

"It is too early in the season to start talking about it being decisive in terms of the title, but you can't get away from the fact that the results of games such as this have a big influence," Navas says. "The winners will come away full of confidence, reinforced, it can be a springboard to better things, both for the players and the fans. A derby such as this is like a six-pointer."

There is certainly no sense of "inferiority" at City. "Look around," Navas says. "We have a fantastic squad of players. We have got enough quality to win this derby and to go on to win titles and cups this season. City are regarded as a big club, simply because of the quality of the players here."

Given the riches at City, the ambition, then it would appear easy to explain why Navas joined them in the summer - although he did, previously, turn down lucrative moves to Chelsea, in 2006, and Arsenal, only last year.

"The reason I have chosen Manchester City is because of the huge interest they have shown in me - they had a lot of confidence in me. I didn't want to leave Seville at the other times because it was a good time to be there. "We were winning trophies [two Uefa Cups, two Copa del Reys, one Spanish Super Cup, one European Super Cup] and things were going well on the field that was why I wanted to stay.

"But coming here has coincided with a period probably around two years in which Seville have not won any trophies. Football-wise it was a good moment for me to take this challenge. I am looking forward to winning things here and I hope to enjoy that."

There was also the much-discussed issue of Navas's debilitating homesickness. A timid child, he opted out of pre-season tours and rejected call-ups for Spain's junior teams with the matter coming to a head when it meant he was left out of his country's squad for Euro 2008 which prompted Navas to seek professional help.

Now, he insists, it is simply in the past. "It's a long time ago but the main thing is that I'm over it, I've managed to conquer it," Navas says.

"What I am concentrating on is enjoying my football. I have come here to enjoy myself and to win trophies. I love football and that has helped me get over it."

One of Navas's four brothers - Marco - has joined League Two side Bury with the suggestion that City had facilitated the transfer to ensure their player was more at home.

Navas was having none of that. "I don't see him that much," he says of his 30-year-old sibling. "He decided to come here [North-West] about a month ago whereas I was making my decision five months earlier. "The two decisions were independent.

I've got other people around me who can help, who speak Spanish. There are other Spanish players at the club." Indeed there are - not least Alvaro Negredo, who also joined from Seville in the summer, and David Silva, who Navas consulted before moving to City.

"From when I first heard City were interested in signing me right from the very start I spoke with him about it," he says of Silva.

"I was very keen to come and he was keen for me to join City as well." Success with City, Navas argues, will also help his ambitions to become a regular for Spain, especially in a season that culminates in a World Cup finals in Brazil for the holders.

"To do that I need a really strong year for City. So when it comes to choosing the team for the World Cup I am part of it. I can only have international success if I am a big player for my club."

It is also interesting that Navas divulges his negotiations to join City pre-dated Pellegrini's appointment. "I had made my mind up anyway but having Pellegrini here also helped influence the decision. "In terms of his image in Spain and what people think of him is all very positive.

He has worked very hard and you can see the fruits of his labour in various clubs. He has achieved things and whatever he has achieved through playing a good brand of entertaining football."