Erling Haaland retail records send Man City charging into Manchester United heartland

As Pep Guardiola’s Premier League champions look to reinforce their position as the dominant force in Manchester, the Blues have sent the trophy into a Manchester United heartland hundreds of miles away where they are looking to capitalise on the stratospheric effect of their new superstar signing.

Erling Haaland, who came close to signing for the Reds in 2020 but brutally did not consider them this summer, has already obliterated doubts over his ability to cut it in English football with an astonishing 14 goals from his first 10 games. Haaland is on a seven-match scoring run in all competitions going into Sunday’s derby while the only manager whose team has stopped him from scoring in the top flight - Scott Parker’s Bournemouth - has been sacked.

While English football tries to work out how to stop the 22-year-old, a gleeful Manchester City have reasons to celebrate off the pitch as well. The arrival of a bonafide superstar has sent interest in the club soaring, with the club achieving a record month for retail in July as the new signing helped launch the away kit from NASA headquarters in Houston before August then produced even more sales.

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An important part of City’s growth has been in Norway, a country dominated by United and Liverpool fans where the Blues also trailed Leeds, Arsenal and Tottenham for popularity. Three months into the 2022/23 season, sales of City club merchandise are up 219 per cent in Norway on the relevant period last year while the club have already sold 77 per cent of the total they sold over the whole of last season in across Scandinavia; Haaland shirt sales have accounted for more than half (51 per cent) of total