Football transfers are all about execution.
A lot of transfers may work in theory but executing the idea on the pitch isn’t always as straightforward as people might think.
By Sam McGuire, Premier League expert
Everyone assumed Erling Haaland would arrive at Manchester City and somehow take them to new heights. He had been a goal machine for Salzburg and Borussia Dortmund, both domestically and in European competition. Adding him to a dominant Man City side should’ve, at least on paper, made them even more ruthless as a team.
But there were a number of things to consider.
Firstly, Haaland was susceptible to the odd injury and his time in the Bundesliga was disrupted by stints on the sidelines. There were no guarantees he would easily adapt to the physical demands of the Premier League.
Pep Guardiola didn’t have the best of records with pure No.9s. He is a manager who favours tactical fluidity and often loads his starting XI up with versatile players. Haaland’s link-up game wasn’t exactly something he was known for and he was still fairly raw in possession.
The biggest unknown in all of this was how City would adapt to having Haaland lead the line for them while the player himself was still adapting to a new league.
There are countless examples of teams signing goalscorers and then completely misusing them.
Safe to say that this wasn’t the case with City and Haaland.
The 22-year-old had a debut season to remember in the Premier League. In fact, it has been a season to remember in general with Guardiola’s side just one win away from completing a historic treble.
They face Inter in the Champions League final later this week in a competition Haaland has scored 12 times in just 10 outings this term.
Haaland has been a revelation for the Premier League champions. He broke the record for most goals in a 38-game campaign having netted 36 times in just 2,779 minutes. The No.9 notched four hat-tricks throughout the season in the English top flight, a feat that only Alan Shearer has bettered (five).
The former Molde forward is the fastest player to ever score 25 goals under Pep Guardiola, doing so in 20 games to beat Lionel Messi (28), Samuel Eto’o (30), Sergio Aguero (35) and Thierry Henry (41).
Not only did Haaland have his most productive season in terms of goals, but he also set a new career-high for assists with eight to beat his tally of seven from his final season with BVB.
The 23-cap Norway international wasn’t just on a hot streak either. He had the highest Expected Goal return in the Premier League (28.7) and was comfortably ahead of Mohamed Salah in second (21.7). He was in the right place at the right time all of the time and his ruthlessness in the box improved the chances City created for him. It was a match made in heaven.
Haaland had the highest Expected Goals per 90 average with 0.93 and the highest Expected Goals + Expected Assists per 90 average in the entire league (1.03). What makes this all the more impressive is that he slotted into this City team.
A lot of the time when a player goes on this sort of goalscoring run, their individual numbers spike and they average north of five shots per 90. It means everything is funnelled their way and it isn’t exactly sustainable because once the opposition limit the volume, the threat disappears. The former BVB man ranked fourth for shots per 90 with four. Darwin Nunez (4.5) led the way with Julio Enciso (4.3) and Aleksandar Mitrovic (4.2) attempting more than the Golden Boot winner.
There are no guarantees in football. This remarkable season should not be downplayed because Haaland was a goal machine elsewhere and City win most things every single year. The fact Guardiola and his coaching staff have managed to execute this transition with the No.9 leading the way is nothing short of remarkable.
Treble or not, this has arguably been City’s best season under the Catalan coach because of this.
(Images from IMAGO)
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