Erling Haaland has only spent nine months at Manchester City but his dad has already outlined plans for the striker’s next club.
Erling Haaland may be settling into life at Manchester City and breaking club records with every new week at the Etihad Stadium, but there are concerns the striker’s heroic exploits won’t last long in the Premier League. The players’ father Alfie has been open in outlining their plans to take Haaland on what is essentially a tour around Europe as he aims to play for the biggest clubs in the world.
The 22-year-old signed for City in a £51 million deal from Borussia Dortmund in June to end speculation surrounding his future, turning down interest from Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Barcelona to join Pep Guardiola’s side.
So far, the move has worked out brilliantly for both the club and the player. City managed to sign Haaland using the majority of the funds raised from selling Gabriel Jesus to Arsenal and he has produced an incredible return of 42 goals in 36 appearances across all competitions.
Haaland has eight goals in his last two matches after bagging five against RB Leipzig in the Champions League. And if he continues in his current vein of form, the Norwegian will smash Mohamed Salah’s scoring record of 32 goals in a single Premier League. There are downsides in having to accommodate Haaland, however, which explains why Dortmund chiefs found some positives from cashing in on the frontman.
The Bundesliga club’s sporting director Sebastian Kehl lifted the lid on how the noise surrounding Haaland’s future affected his team-mates in the dressing room: “As much as we always loved Haaland and he was successful with us, in the end, he became a burden on the dressing room, the club and the whole environment,” Kehl told German publication Sport Bild, as quoted by The Mirror.
“He had become the subject of every conversation. Outside the club, almost everything was exclusively focused on him. In the end, the timing of the transfer was right for both parties. And we are all happy for Erling that he continues to be so successful.”
Haaland is a popular member of the City squad and has struck up close friendships with Jack Grealish and Kevin de Bruyne. But there is a feeling City have had to alter their style recently to ensure that their star man gets on the scoresheet, and such changes can lead to problems such as a decline in squad morale if one player is receiving preferential treatment.
The evidence so far suggests City were right to take the risk and attempt to dominate the Premier League by signing up Haaland, even if it meant caving to the demands of a £176m (€200m) release clause and making payments to his agent and Haaland Snr.
But such an agreement indicates Haaland won’t be sticking around in Manchester for the length of his contract – one of the main reasons why Manchester United aborted their attempts to sign him three years ago – especially as his father has already thought about his next club.
“I think Erling wants to prove his abilities in all leagues. Then he can stay there [Manchester City] for three or four years at the most,” Alfie Haaland said on the ‘Haaland: The Big Decision’ documentary. “He could be, for example, two-and-a-half years in Germany, two-and-a-half years in England and then in Spain, Italy, France, right?”
“On our list, I think City is the best team,” he said. “[Bayern] Munich is number two. We have Real Madrid as number three, Paris Saint-Germain as number four. We also have some English teams other than City who are quite good. Liverpool and Chelsea. Also, there is Barcelona. They are sort of in the same row.”
Even if Haaland isn’t at City for the long haul or regarded as the perfect fit for a Guardiola team, City fans won’t care one bit just as long he continues to find the back of the net.
But one day in the future, the towering striker will make his way out of the stadium’s doors for the final time – just like he did with Dortmund – and then it will be City who are left to cope with the burden.
Source: express.co.uk
