Manager Josep Guardiola has called on Erling Haaland to “deliver” and inspire another decade of success after signing a historic nine-and-a-half-year contract at Manchester City.
City travel to Ipswich on Sunday looking for a third win in four games as they look to reignite a disappointing Premier League season that ended with six defeats in eight games. After being stunned to learn of the length of the striker’s contract, manager Guardiola said: “I’m really happy, but now we have to deliver results.”
“I’ve played over 500 games here, probably 503 games, and 485 of them have been more or less extraordinary. The last 12 or 13 times the results have not been what we expected. But in the bigger picture, it was a dream if Erling were here. , he has to deliver, he has to perform well and push with the team, and the team has to push each other as well. . But we have to make it happen and keep doing it.”
After the release of Julián Álvarez, City’s team spent the first half of the season without a natural backup striker, and Haaland is set to play in East Manchester until he turns 33, making it a difficult role to replace him in. It will be. Since joining in 2022, the Norwegian has scored 111 goals in 125 games, won the Premier League twice, won the Champions League and won a number of individual awards.
City have agreed to sign 25-year-old Omar Marmouche from Eintracht Frankfurt in a supporting role for Haaland. “The greatest striker will not be able to replace Erling. We have to find a young player to take on that role,” Guardiola said. “We will find a solution. Of course, you can’t go buy (Kylian) Mbappé now. Mbappé was an example of playing top, top, top, top-class players. I We should play differently. Usually we play with just one striker, so that’s why the club and the great news they have, and of course Erling is in every game, every game. We also have replacement players available in case they are unable to play.”
If Marmouche arrives at City, he will be able to study one of the best strikers in the world up close. When asked if Haaland could be a role model, Guardiola replied: “Of course.” “That’s the biggest lesson we can give our young players when we play with these players. Like a striker, the moment Erling fired in the box was unbelievable. What a good player he is. I wonder how good he is. Take a look, that’s the best way to improve. Play for a few minutes and learn from the best in this era, in this 10, 13, 14, 15 years. There were a lot of great things we got.”
