Man City have reached an agreement with German side Borussia Dortmund for striker Erling Haaland.
Guardiola’s side has activated Haaland’s release clause meaning the fee will be a total of £85.5m and will join on July 1st, subject to the club finalising terms with the Norwegian striker.
Haaland has scored 21 goals in 23 appearances in the Bundesliga this season helping his side to 2nd in the league behind domestic rivals Bayern Munich. Since his arrival in Germany, Haaland ranks 3rd for goals scored per 90 minutes in Europe’s top 5 leagues. With Haaland producing these numbers at just 21-years-old and the prospect of his best years under the stewardship of Pep Guardiola, Haaland could become one of the greatest strikers the Premier League has ever seen.
The 21-year-old will join City on a contract until June 2027 and is believed to be earning a wage in the region of £375,000 p/w which will be on the same level as star man, Kevin de Bruyne.
How will Haaland fit in at Man City?
Embed from Getty ImagesMan City have been without a focal point at the top end of the pitch since Sergio Aguero’s contract expired at the end of last season. This has led to City playing with a false-9 for the majority of this campaign with the likes of Kevin de Bruyne and Phil Foden occupying the central spot.
With City playing with the false-9 this season, you can understand why Guardiola was so keen to bring Harry Kane to the club in the Summer. Since Jose Mourinho’s period in charge at Spurs, Kane has adopted a deeper role at times in games. This has allowed him to drop into pockets and create the space in-behind in which the likes Son Heung-Min thrives and is a big reason why they have the most goal combinations in Premier League history. Kane’s ability to not only find the back of the net but to assist goals as well would have been a perfect fit for Guardiola’s style this season.
Embed from Getty ImagesA key facet to the way City play is the fluidity throughout the front three. However, the signing of Haaland may result in Pep Guardiola adopting a different approach with Haaland being the central point of their front line with his commanding presence in and around the penalty area.
Haaland, who is 6’4″, has a major aerial presence as well as the ability to run in behind and will thrive on balls into the penalty area from the likes of Kevin de Bruyne. It will be interesting to see if Guardiola tries to develop Haaland’s game to not only be a goal poaching striker but to be the all-around forward that Guardiola desires in order to fit into City’s fluid system.
Can Haaland be the solution to City’s Champions League nightmares?
Embed from Getty ImagesSince Pep Guardiola’s arrival to the blue side of Manchester, the Champions League trophy is the one trophy that is so desired by The Citizens, to round off the monumental success of the Pep Guardiola era. This season City bowed out in the semi-finals of the Champions League to Real Madrid, after Rodrygo’s two goals in injury time, which left City stunned and ultimately led to Madrid winning the tie in extra time.
City fans will be hoping that the arrival of Haaland will take them to the next level and complete the job by winning the prestigious trophy next season. The Norwegian striker has scored 15 goals in 13 Champions League appearances since he joined Dortmund and will be hoping to continue his remarkable goal-scoring record in the competition to help City finally lift the trophy next season.
What does this mean for Gabriel Jesus?
Embed from Getty ImagesGabriel Jesus has been in great goal scoring form as of late, with 6 goals in his last 6 games in all competitions, including his 4 goals in a 5-1 against Watford. With Haaland coming in you would think that he would take Jesus’s lone striker spot in the side. However, Jesus has been utilised as a wide-man this season, but with the abundance of options out wide it could leave Jesus to be surplus to requirements.
It has been reported that Arsenal are keen to take the Brazilian frontman as well as 6 other clubs and Jesus is taking serious thought over the move to North London. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has previously worked with the 25-year-old during his time as Pep Guardiola’s assistant at City, meaning he will know exactly what type of player Arsenal are getting.
Who will replace Haaland at Dortmund?
Embed from Getty ImagesDortmund moved swiftly to sign a replacement following the departure of Haaland. German forward Karim Adeyemi has signed for a fee of €38m plus add-ons from Red Bull Saltzburg on a deal until 2027. Red Bull Saltzburg is the same side Dortmund signed Haaland from in 2020 and will be hoping the 20-year-old can have the same effect as his predecessor. Adeyemi currently has 3 caps for the German national side and will be hoping that his return to Germany will see a rise in his number of caps.
This move comes as a blow to Manchester United as Adeyemi was reportedly a target for new manager Erik ten Hag as he was a part of the rebuild that will take place at Old Trafford this summer.