Man City will gain unexpected advantage from Erling Haaland transfer

Manchester City just about came out on top in an incredibly tight Premier League title race this season, but next season the competition could be even tougher.

After Chelsea fell away following a strong start, the 2021/22 campaign became a two-horse race between City and Liverpool; once City had let a sizeable lead slip anyway.

Next season there could be more protagonists in the title picture. Chelsea will no doubt come back stronger, while Antonio Conte is building a formidable side at Tottenham. If things go well, even Arsenal could compete up at the top.

City are already well into the process of reinforcing the team before attempting to win a third consecutive title, with Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez adding attacking firepower.

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Everyone is well aware of what Haaland will bring to an already brilliant City side; goals, and lots of them. But there is another less obvious element to his transfer that could give City an advantage over their rivals.

City went into last season with a squad that had barely had a proper pre-season to train together, and not much of summer break to recuperate. City stars like Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Raheem Sterling were busy representing their countries at Euro 2020, meaning that for the first few weeks of the season City were not at their freshest.

In the case of De Bruyne, the amount of football he played could have cost City. An ankle injury sustained while playing for Belgium and general fatigue meant that it wasn't until January that he rediscovered his best form for City. Had his dip continued, the Blues might not have been able to fend off Liverpool's title assault.

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