KHALDOON: Haaland is not the end of our summer buys
CITY are working to bring in several new faces this summer on top of Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez.
Alvarez is expected to link up with the squad for pre-season and has a good chance of sticking around to work with Pep Guardiola on a fulltime basis. Haaland will definitely be a part of the squad for next season after the club agreed a £51m deal with Dortmund.
However, City are not stopping there. They are looking for at least one midfielder and could also turn their attention to a full-back as they look to keep the Blues ahead in their rivalry with Liverpool to be the best team in the country and on the continent.
Incomings will also be dictated by outgoings. Four firstteam players have just 12 months left on their contracts, while other players may seek new challenges for next season that require City to find a replacement in the market.
The club will also look to use their academy, which has never been in better shape in the Sheikh Mansour era.
James McAtee, Liam Delap and Cole Palmer were all mentioned by chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak as having a bright future.
“I can confirm that there will be more players coming in. We are looking to strengthen the team in the areas we need strengthening,” the chairman said. “Every season some players leave and we have to refresh the team.
“We always look at improving and strengthening. We’ve made two very important additions already but I anticipate we will be doing a couple more. We will try to go as fast as we can but it depends on the market. If it was up to me, they would all be done on July 1.
“We’ve been very deliberate over the years in how we freshen up the squad, how we continuously improve the team very deliberately and then how we infuse it with talent from the academy.
“It took a while to get the academy going, these things take years but we were patient, we invested and kept at it and now you’ve seen over the last couple of years the academy is producing what Sheikh Mansour envisaged from day one when he invested into the club.
“That isn’t just a sustainable team but one with a very special academy that we will enhance and grow and improve and ultimate have the combination of talent that we are bringing in from all around the world with the local talent from within the academy.”
Khaldoon, however, still hailed the ‘super’ signing of the ‘phenom
enal’ Haaland. The Norwegian was in Manchester last week as the £51m transfer moves towards completion, with an announcement expected in the near future.
“We have in Haaland arguably the best No.9 in the world, at the right age when you look at the next 10-15 years. In Haaland we have invested in that striker for the future,” said Khaldoon.
“From his early days in Norway and moving on to Dortmund, he has been on our radar for four to five years., We have been following his progression and seeing his transition from very talented high-quality high-potential young player to one of the most, if not the most, exciting striker in the world.
“His performance at the highest level once he moved to Dortmund in the Champions League and in the Bundesliga, his goals to minutes ratios, is phenomenal.
“His ability to play on his right on his left to score goals with his head his speed his physicality. he is a very, very unique striker that the whole world has been looking at.
“Every big team in the world wanted Haaland to join and we’re delighted that he chose to join Man City.
“It’s a testament to the great work that has been happening in this club, a testament to the quality of this team and to Haaland not just being a great player but a smart player that saw the potential of what he can do and how he can develop further professionally.
“More importantly than all of that, the fans, I think he has a connection to the fans. That combined all these elements together and Haaland made what is a very wise decision in choosing to come to Man City.
“For us, it’s a super decision. We are getting truly a phenomenal player that will give us great memories for our fans going forward because he will fit very nicely with the squad.”