What English experts have been pointing out for a while is that, with the right players around him, Erling Braut Haaland is a fantastic striker with supernatural finishing qualities, but if the “support” is too poor, the Norwegian goal machine can get lost, become running in between and almost invisible.
It is quite clear, when we see Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola’s priorities this summer, that world domination should be regained by awakening Erling Braut Haaland’s animalistic scoring instinct.
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The arrivals of Rayan Cherki, Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Ait-Nouri are just what the striker needs to fire Manchester City back to the top.
Erling Haaland spent the first part of the summer eating lobster on holiday. He then ate up Norway’s World Cup qualifying opponents – with a goal in the big win over Italy and the only goal against Estonia, which put Norway well on its way to its first championship since 1998.
Now the striker is looking forward to another feast of goals at the Club World Cup, especially after Manchester City have provided him with a lethal new reinforcement through the signings of Cherki, Reijnders and Ait-Nouri in a £110 million transfer bonanza.
From hunger to satiety
Haaland’s two biggest passions are eating and scoring, but on the pitch he had to go hungry towards the end of last year’s season. He missed six weeks after an ankle injury at the end of March, and when he returned in May, he lacked both his usual sharpness and – most worryingly – his appetite for goals.
He was goalless in his first three games back and turned down a penalty in the FA Cup final, prompting Wayne Rooney to speculate: “Maybe the thought of taking a penalty at Wembley was too much for him.”
The striker was back on penalties in the final game of the season against Fulham, as he secured City’s Champions League spot. But a third place in the Premier League did not save what Haaland himself called “a disastrous season”. Now, with a regained appetite at national team level, the Club World Cup gives him and City the perfect opportunity to put things right.
“Not good enough”
Haaland had a very disappointing season both collectively and individually. After winning the treble in his first City season and defending the league gold in his second (with his second Golden Boot in a row), his third season ended without trophies. His 22 league goals were the lowest of his career, and although 31 goals in total is impressive for most, Haaland could not hide his displeasure:
“I haven’t been good enough. I haven’t helped the team enough,” he told ESPN. “We haven’t been at our best, and when that happens, you don’t win in this country. This season has been tough. It’s not fun to lose so many games. The club has set the standard so high that this feels like a disaster.”
He also pointed to a lack of hunger in the squad: “Sometimes you just have to run. We haven’t run enough this season.”
Lone top scorer
Despite injury problems and fewer goals, Haaland was still one of City’s best. The problem was that other key players failed:
- Phil Foden went from 19 goals/11 assists in 2023-24 to just 7 goals/2 assists.
- Kevin De Bruyne’s farewell season was marred by injuries – he only provided one assist for Haaland, compared to four in a single game the year before.
- Bernardo Silva went from 15 assists in the league to eight.
- Julian Alvarez’s 20 assists disappeared for Atletico Madrid, and substitute Omar Marmoush did not provide any assists.
- Ballon d’Or winner Rodri, with 17 assists in 2023-24, missed almost the entire season with a serious knee injury.
With new reinforcements in place, Haaland is ready to regain his dominance – and City their trophies.
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