Erling Haaland, almost a new Manchester City player

Pep Guardiola failed to sign Harry Kane from Tottenham Hotspur last summer. Manchester City made two offers, one for £100m (£120m) and another for £150m (£175m), but were unable to convince London club chairman Daniel Levy to sell it to him. With the tight purchase of Erling Haaland, Guardiola completes the puzzle with the missing piece.

The Spanish coach has managed to do without a pure ‘9’ in the roster for the past two seasons in order to use footballers who are more used to others in that position and to take advantage of the ‘false 9’ he so often and so well used. Leo Messi de Barcelona.

Phil Foden, Kevin de Bruyne, Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus, the purest striker, were there and the truth is City have worked very well. Not in vain, they are the top scoring team in the Premier League, with 89 goals, two more than Liverpool, giving them a plus four difference in goals against the ‘Reds’ which could be decisive for a title aiming at the latest date to be determined.

However, City has had a setback compared to other campaigns. From fighting for all the titles, to losing quickly in the League Cup, in the FA Cup semi-finals and also in the Champions League semi-finals, where he came close to the second consecutive final. It could be City’s second empty season since Guardiola arrived, something that hasn’t happened since the year he landed in Manchester.

To raise the level, Haaland approaches. According to sports website The Athletic, the signing is complete and it is only a matter of time before it is announced. The financial offer that directors Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain have put on the table is juicy enough to convince the Norwegian that his fate is not in Real Madrid, but in Manchester.

With this signing, City acquire a man who has almost scored a goal per game in his three seasons with Borussia Dortmund, records reminiscent of Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in their prime. Guardiola finds a target that will receive the passes from Foden, De Bruyne and Cancelo, and that will be the culmination of Sterling and Riyad Mahrez’s counterattacks.

At 21, Haaland is the most promising footballer in the world, along with Kylian Mbappe, and his departure from Borussia was only a matter of time. That’s why his agent, the recently deceased Mino Raiola, protected him with a termination clause in the third year of the contract of less than 80 million pounds (90 million euros).

When City activates it, it will be the attacker the team has been looking for since Sergio Aguero, the most goalscored foreigner in Premier history, suffered a sporting slump a few seasons ago due to a knee injury.

Haaland will follow in his father’s footsteps and join the Premier League, but in a very different setting. Alfie Haaland played for Nottingham Forest, Leeds United and Manchester City for petroleum dollars. His career ended abruptly after Roy Keane’s revenge broke his left knee in a Manchester derby.