Pep Guardiola provided a cryptic response when questioned about Manchester City‘s interest in Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland ahead of his side’s Premier League fixture against Brighton.
Haaland’s future is a hot topic of discussion after the Daily Mail reported that a deal was edging closer to completion with City reaching personal terms with the 21-year-old and his representatives over a five-year contract worth more than £500,000 per week, a report that has subsequently been backed up by The Athletic.
Haaland is available for a knock-down price of €75m (£63m) this summer due to an exit clause in his contract which was signed when he joined Dortmund from Red Bull Salzburg in January 2020.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future,” Guardiola said. “For many years I never talk about transfer windows, especially when we are playing for incredible things still this season.”
More from Football
Despite reports that a deal is close, Norwegian footballer turned broadcaster Jan Aage Fjortoft has insisted an agreement is yet to be reached and that Real Madrid and potentially Bayern Munich remain in the race to sign one of the most sought-after young talents in Europe.
“It has been reported that there has been an agreement done between Manchester City and Erling Haaland, this is not true,” Fjortoft told the Here We Go podcast. “No agreement with any club so far and I say the same as I’ve said for months – Real Madrid and Manchester City are the favourites to get him and note Bayern Munich [are] still in the race, although they try to say otherwise.”
Should City succeed in their pursuit of the Norway international it would bring to an end a year-long wait to secure a replacement for Sergio Aguero.
City had tried to buy Harry Kane from Tottenham last summer, but despite the England captain’s desire to make the move to Manchester, they were unable to strike an agreement with Spurs chairman Daniel Levy who valued the striker at £150m.
With Kane turning 29 at the end of June, it now appears as though City have prioritised a move for Haaland instead following another successful campaign for the striker in the Bundesliga.
Haaland’s game-time has been interrupted by injuries, but when he has been on the pitch he has been typically ruthless, scoring 18 goals and providing seven assists in 20 league matches this season. In total, he has scored 58 goals in 63 Bundesliga games and 82 in 85 for Dortmund in total.
Dortmund are expected to raid Salzburg again for Haaland’s replacement with highly-rated Germany international Karim Adeyemi tipped to join.
More on Manchester City FC
Liverpool remain in quadruple hunt after Klopp takes advantage of Guardiola's wilful surrender16 April, 2022
Mane double sends Liverpool into FA Cup final after Man City win - ratings and analysis16 April, 2022
Hillsborough tribute cut short as Man City fans disrupt FA Cup semi-final minute silence16 April, 2022How Haaland would fit in at City
For the best part of two seasons, City have generally played without a recognised No 9 with Aguero struggling for fitness prior to his departure in 2021 and Gabriel Jesus, the man originally earmarked as his successor, repurposed as a right-sided forward after failing to convince through the middle.
That City are in contention to win the Premier League and Champions League this year – having won the former and the reached the final of the latter last season – suggests they have coped just fine without a world-class centre-forward. Phil Foden, Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling, Jack Grealish and Bernardo Silva have all been deployed as City’s most advanced player at various points this season.
Nevertheless, there have been occasions in which City have lacked a cutting edge in attack, notably during last season’s Champions League final defeat against Chelsea. Adding a striker of Haaland’s ilk could prove the difference in turning tight games in City’s favour. Since the start of the 2020-21 campaign, Haaland has scored more than double the number of league goals of any of City’s players.
But as Romelu Lukaku’s struggles at Chelsea have shown, adding a striker to a team that has grown accustomed to playing without one does not always make for a seamless transition. Haaland hit the ground running at Dortmund, scoring a hat-trick on his debut against Augsburg and 12 times in his opening eight games, but adapting instantly to a team as meticulously choreographed as City’s could be a challenge, at least initially.
League goals scored since the start of 2020-21
- Erling Haaland – 45
- Raheem Sterling – 20
- Ilkay Gundogan – 19
- Riyad Mahrez – 19
- Kevin De Bruyne – 17
- Phil Foden – 16
- Gabriel Jesus – 12
Similarly to Chelsea, City possess an abundance of technically gifted attacking midfielders who are able to interchange roles freely. If Haaland joins, he will play in one position and one position only.
That will necessitate a change in style whereby City will have one fixed centre-forward rather than a rotating cast of them and perhaps explains why Kane was preferred last summer given he is now as much a creator of goals as a scorer of them.
Haaland may also have to work on the defensive side of his game too given Guardiola’s desire for City to press high up the pitch. According to FBREF, Haaland has made just five tackles and interceptions this season, which contrasts unfavourably with all of City’s forward players; Bernardo Silva (with 74) has the most, while Riyad Mahrez (14) has made the fewest.
Nevertheless, signing Haaland would be some statement given the electrifying manner in which he has emerged as one of the most lethal finishers in Europe during the back-end of his time at Salzburg and the entire period at Dortmund. Given his qualities and capacity to improve further, there is every chance that Haaland would make a great team even better.
from Football | News and analysis from the Premier League and beyond | iNews https://ift.tt/sxtdzLM
Post a Comment