Stats, style and the lack of a star No.9: How Manchester City pulled off Erling Haaland coup

In every graph that they analysed, in each document they looked at, one name stood above all the others: Erling Haaland. City’s scouting team described him as an “outlier” because he was top in all criteria. Kylian Mbappe and Harry Kane were the only strikers who came close.

That is why the analysts and leading figures on City’s board are not surprised with Haaland’s stunning return of 12 goals from his first seven matches at the club. City knew that, as long as he settled into the squad, Haaland would hit the ground running and few at the club will be surprised if the Norway star scores again on Wednesday (Thursday AEST), when he faces his former club Borussia Dortmund.

It has been a remarkable summer for City. Thanks to sales from the first-team squad and the academy, they made a profit of £55.4 million in the transfer window, despite signing Haaland, Julian Alvarez, Kalvin Phillips, Stefan Ortega, Sergio Gomez and Manuel Akanji. In contrast Chelsea’s net spend was about £200 million, approximately £20 million more than Manchester United.

Haaland was the signing of the summer, so how did City get the 22-year-old?

City wanted to sign Haaland in 2021, to replace Sergio Aguero, but Dortmund were unwilling to sell. Txiki Begiristain, City’s director of football, knew that a £51 million release clause could be triggered the following year, but he was also aware that Pep Guardiola, the manager, wanted a striker that summer, so he inquired about Kane.

The City hierarchy admired Kane. One senior figure described him at the time as “the best No.9 and best No.10 in the Premier League”. Thousands of column inches were devoted to the transfer saga, but City spoke to Daniel Levy, the Tottenham Hotspur chairman, only twice. Each time Levy told City: “Kane is not for sale.”

Kane’s brother and agent, Charlie, and their father, Patrick, kept telling City otherwise – and the club waited patiently until the end of the European Championship – but eventually all sides accepted that a deal could not be struck.

City were said to have felt “burnt” by the experience, but Guardiola improvised, switching to a false-nine system and, much to his credit, his team won the Premier League and came within 30 seconds of qualifying for the Champions League final.

Begiristain, Omar Berrada, the chief operating officer, and Ferran Soriano, the chief executive, put all their efforts into signing Haaland.

They held their first meeting with Rafaela Pimenta, Haaland’s agent, who took over from Mino Raiola when he died, and the player’s father, Alfie, in October. At that point Real Madrid, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea were in the race for Haaland, who had been in City’s scouting database for more than five years.

Three things appealed to Haaland about City. It was not the most important aspect of the deal, but he and his camp knew that City would be able to offer him a lucrative contract, one worth about £400,000 a week.

More importantly Haaland was a genuine fan of the club, and knew that he would be playing regularly in a style that suited him if he joined.

Alfie, who played for City for three years, told the Norwegian broadcaster Viaplay: “Our first criterion was: ‘Who needs a No.9?’ City had 10/10 at this level, it was the perfect option.”

Haaland, a keen admirer of La Liga, originally thought about joining Real and then moving to England in his “peak years” but the Spanish club had Karim Benzema on their books.

Haaland also knew that, at City, he would be supplied by Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden – players he enthused about during conversations with the City hierarchy. Begiristain also told Haaland that, given City’s possession-based style of play, he would spend less time chasing shadows. Another meeting took place in Monte Carlo in February. Guardiola also called Haaland – only once – to tell him about his plans for him.

Four months after the initial meeting with City, Haaland had cut his shortlist to two clubs: Real and City. He opted for City. In April, Pimenta called Berrada to give him the good news. On the same day, Alfie rang Begiristain to deliver the same message.

The contract was drawn up and signed shortly after Haaland had completed his medical in May. The only question that remained was regarding his squad number. Haaland had considered taking the No.15 shirt worn by his father. But just before the Norwegian signed, Gabriel Jesus left City and the No.9 became available.

Haaland has failed to score in only one game this season, the 4-0 win over Bournemouth, although he set up Ilkay Gundogan for the first goal.

Guardiola’s staff admire Haaland’s movement just as much as his finishing. He always seems to be in the right place at the right time.

They liken his instinct in the penalty area to that of Raul and Ruud van Nistelrooy, who earned a reputation for scoring goals from close range. Interestingly the average distance from which Haaland has scored this season is 7.6 yards. Last season it was 11.7 yards.

In six Premier League matches Haaland has had 44 touches in the area and has scored with five of them. He has carried his superb domestic form into Europe. Last week he scored twice in the 4-0 rout of Sevilla to take his Champions League tally to 25 goals in 20 matches.

Haaland needs only two more goals to move level with Luis Suarez and Rivaldo. Few would back against him achieving that feat on Wednesday (Thursday AEST).

– The Times

Originally published as Stats, style and the lack of a star No.9: How Manchester City pulled off Erling Haaland coup