Teddy Sheringham has tipped Erling Haaland to struggle at Manchester City, claiming Pep Guardiola might’ve repeated the mistake Chelsea made with Romelu Lukaku last summer.
The summer transfer window hasn’t even opened yet and the Sky Blues have already made probably the best signing that they’re going to make throughout the off-season, going off Haaland’s record for Dortmund.
Manchester City have paid some £51 million to sign the 21-year-old sensation, along with committing another £80 million or so on agent fees and other performance-related add-ons [CNBC].
Phsyically, the Chelsea marksman and Haaland are similar number nines but, with the Belgian striker only scoring eight goals in the Premier League this season upon his return to English football, Sheringham feels that the Norway international could also be in for a rude awakening next term.
He told Stadium Astro: “I think it could be a little Lukaku-ish with Chelsea. I’m not sure….I mean, I’m sure he’s in safe hands. I love Pep Guardiola. Haaland is more of a player when he breaks away and gets his legs going, striding beyond defenders. When you play for Man City, you’re camped in on the edge of their area so you’ve got to be able to feed balls into your centre-forwards and I’m not sure that’s one of his assets.”
Haaland’s record for Dortmund
Going by the young striker’s record for Borussia Dortmund, he won’t struggle, no.
According to ESPN, Haaland netted 85 goals in only 88 appearances for the German giants across all competitions.
It’s an astonishing record and one that probably convinced Manchester City to sign him.
As good a striker as Sheringham was during his time, Guardiola knows a hell of a lot more than the former Spurs forward about the technical and tactical side of the beautiful game.
And if the Spanish coach feels that Haaland is a good fit for his side, which presumably he does, then that has to be trusted.
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