Erling Haaland is one of the most exciting young talents in world football, and his arrival at Manchester City will no doubt add an extra dimension to Pep Guardiola’s side.
The Norwegian striker has already shown his quality at both club and international level, and it is clear that he has the potential to be a star for years to come.
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Scoring Machine
One of the key areas where Haaland will help Manchester City is in their ability to score goals. The 21-year-old has an incredible record of 43 goals in 40 games for club and country this season, and his clinical finishing will be a major asset for Guardiola’s side.
Manchester City scored 89 goals this season, the most goal-scoring team in the Premier League, but City does not have an absolute main scoring point, every player has the ability to score goals.
Their league-leading goalscorer Sterling has only scored 12 goals, and the Premier League’s most fiery team has only 2 players in the top 10 scorers in the Premier League, so Harland, who is extremely efficient at scoring goals, is considered an excellent addition.
First of all, let’s look at a set of data (as above), Haaland played for Borussia Dortmund for three seasons, accumulating 88 appearances scoring 85 goals and giving 23 assists, making a total of 108 goals, all very auspicious numbers, and the goal scoring efficiency is very amazing. So, how are Haaland’s goals distributed? Please see the chart below.
41 percent of Haaland’s goals came from receiving a pass from a teammate and scoring on his own, while 31% of his goals came from pressing high up the pitch and scoring from a cross from the side. This is one of the biggest reasons why Manchester City is interested in Haaland. However, we have to consider the problem that Haaland’s shooting area is usually deep inside the box, with an average shooting distance of about 13 meters.
In addition to his goalscoring prowess, Haaland is also a very physical presence and is excellent at holding up the ball and bringing others into play. This will be a valuable attribute for City, who often look to dominate possession and control the game.
Haaland’s arrival also gives Guardiola another option in his attacking armoury, and he will now have the option to deploy a front two or even a front three if he so chooses.
There is no doubt that Haaland is a huge talent, and his signing is a real coup for Manchester City. Pep Guardiola will be hoping that he can help fire them to more success in the years to come.
Playing a central role
The 21-year-old Erling Haaland has significant functions to stay in the central area of front court. With a height of 6’3′, his footwork is as good as his incredible aerial power.
When he stays in the middle, he can turn around to protect the ball under the pressure of bulky defenders. His monstrous outlook makes people scared.
Also, his talent requires the team develop tactics around him, which will not be a problem of Guardiola when there are some excellent passers like Kevin de Bruyne, Bernando Silva and Phil Foden. He could play the games he wants to play.
High speed in transition
It’s another thing that he can do are ignored.
When he plays one on one, he likes to use his body and speed to overtake defenders, which is a total destruction for the defensive line of his opponents.
When the defense-offense transition comes, he is able to speed up and be in position of goals and just wait for the final strike. It’s not easy at all to do that when he has a tall and big body. But that’s exactly the reason why he is so talented.
The ability to pass the ball
Joining Pep Guardiola’s team will have to consider the issue of pass fit. Guardiola’s coaching career has used two completely different types of tall centers, respectively, Ibrahimović in Barcelona’s time and Lewandowski in Bayern Munich’s time.
Under Guardiola, Lewandowski became a goal scoring machine, while Ibrahimović seemed to not perform amazingly enough. Therefore, Haaland needs to consider what he can do to help the team in the coming season.
In the Bundesliga, Haaland averages 22.24 passes attempted per game and a pass success rate of 71.2%, a statistic lower than more than 50% of strikers in the top five leagues; and a cross success rate of 65%, lower than more than 60% of strikers.
In contrast, no Manchester City player who has made more than 10 starts this season has made less than 38 passes and has a pass success rate of less than 80%. Considering City’s wingers usually need to drop back to make the ball, Haaland’s ability to move the ball to both sides of the pitch will need to be seen to be adapted.
One step to heaven or hell
At just 21 years of age, Haaland’s potential is still unlimited and if he grows enough at City there is no doubt that he will be a big gun for the next 10 years. The good side is that joining City would be the perfect opportunity for Haaland to complement his shortcomings. After all, it is rare to meet a tactical master of the passing games like Guardiola. The question is also whether Haaland can adapt and stay fit.
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