Erling Haaland impact highlights Man City summer transfer dilemma

Erling Haaland’s individual impact on the Premier League has been something we have never seen before, and the Norwegian looks set to smash the current goal record for a 38-game season set by Mohammad Salah in 2017/18.

Haaland only needs six more goals this campaign to beat the Liverpool forward’s 32-goal record, but despite Haaland’s goals the Manchester City team he is part of isn’t performing at the same level as in previous seasons. This raises the question of whether the signing of traditional number nine; a position City have avoided in recent years has impacted the rest of the squad negatively.

One thing is for sure, if you have a player capable of scoring over 30 league goals a season, he can’t be the problem and it’s the job of the rest of the squad to make it work. One City player who has done this is Jack Grealish, who’s relished the opportunity to play with an out-and-out striker.

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However, there is no question the rest of the squad haven’t adapted quite yet, but what can Pep Guardiola do to get his team back to the dizzying heights of previous seasons with Erling Haaland front and centre?

The trademark of every Pep Guardiola side over the years has been tiki-taka possession that helps his team lock down the midfield and punish the opposition with wave after wave of attack. This style of play is responsible for City’s domestic domination over recent seasons, but in previous years their rotating front players have been able to drop back into midfield and get involved in this type of play, and this is something Haaland isn't as adept at.

While City certainly don’t need to give up one of their biggest strengths, they do need to start looking for Haaland’s