Pep Guardiola – Manchester City yet to meet my demands concerning Erling Haaland
Manchester City have not made the progress they intended to with Erling Haaland over a new deal and have to know what’s ahead
Man City striker Erling Haaland
The most important decision for Manchester City over the next 12 months is undoubtedly the Premier League charges.
Win and there is immense vindication to go with the freedom to continue running the club how they like and challenge for the biggest prizes in the game. Lose and there would be catastrophic consequences that would require drastic change.
In the meantime, business goes on as usual and the most pressing call is whether or not Pep Guardiola will stay on as manager. The Catalan is expected to leave when his contract expires at the end of next season, yet he has been persuaded to stay before and hope has not been lost that he could still turn a nine-year journey in Manchester into double figures.
Behind that, City really do need to make inroads with Erling Haaland this season. It was the intention of club bosses early on in last season to start talks with him over a new contract but there appears to have been nothing done as of yet; asked about a potential deal, Haaland said on Tuesday: “I’ve had two fantastic years, and have three years left. That’s really all I can say.”
Nobody can argue with that, and a fantastic third year is expected to follow the first two, but next summer will be the last year City can really get a blockbuster fee for the Norwegian. A player of his quality will command a sizeable fee at any stage and the club would be delighted if he stayed for four years, but if you are talking a sum of money that would allow some serious squad-building to go on it can’t be any later than two seasons out from the expiry of his contract.
That still leaves plenty of time, and Guardiola’s future and the charges may well be worth a pause over, but the fact remains that City haven’t made the progress they they hoped they would over Haaland. Just as the clock is ticking for them to sort the Guardiola situation out, the same is true of their second biggest asset.
If it feels like the upcoming months are critical to what happens next at the football club, the same is true of the team. Guardiola will be near-impossible to replace so City need to know exactly where they are with everything else in order to minimise the disruption and the drop.
The more they can have in order, the more prepared they can be for any storms that arrive.
More City news
Julian Alvarez of Manchester City during the Emirates FA Cup Semi Final match between Manchester City and Chelsea at Wembley Stadium on April 20, …
Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images
Manchester City fans would be forgiven for waking up a little surprised to see forward Julian Alvarez now being linked with a switch to Chelsea.
Alvarez made 54 appearances for Pep Guardiola last season, scoring 19 goals and providing 13 assists in the process.
Julian Alvarez of Manchester City holds the trophy after the Premier League match between Manchester City and West Ham United at Etihad Stadium on …
Photo by Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
The Argentina international enjoyed an excellent season, providing effective cover for Erling Haaland who was missing for periods.
Therefore, rumours that the striker could be unsettled, potentially leading to Alvarez being a transfer target for Chelsea, will have come as a real surprise.
That being said, TBR Football can share what Alvarez has been telling Man City behind the scenes, in the face of all this talk.
TBR understands that Alvarez has told the club that he would like to be playing in more of their big European games, but stopped short of asking to leave the club.
Alvarez was a constant for City over the season as mentioned, and yet only started two Champions League games, which is where some frustration has emerged – TBR has been told.
Julian Alvarez has told Man City he wants to play in big games amid Chelsea rumours
Guardiola was delighted with Alvarez’s performances last season, and made it clear to the 24-year-old that he remains a hugely important player for him going forward.
Alvarez is understood to have asked for Guardiola’s blessing to play at the Olympics this summer, and it’s believed that he will feature in France.
Enzo Fernandez of Chelsea competes with Julian Alvarez of Manchester City during the Emirates FA Cup Semi Final match between Manchester City and C…
Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images
TBR understands that City are not shocked about links now emerging with Alvarez and an exit, but sources do not ‘envisage a scenario’ where he will leave the Etihad this summer.
Of course, with Chelsea linked with a move for Alvarez, that could potentially be speculation fueled by a reunion with Enzo Maresca, who worked with him in Manchester.
But in their belief that Alvarez will not depart, Manchester City point to the fact that the striker has four-years left on his contract, having penned an extension to his deal little over a 12-month ago.
As a result of this information, it would be a real surprise if any club were able to pursue a move, perhaps meaning Chelsea will continue to focus on RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko.
A move for Napoli’s Victor Osimhen, who has long been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge, is now thought to be off the cards, given the striker’s costly release clause an
d his unsuitability to Maresca’s football.
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