Journalist Richard Keys thinks that Erling Haaland risks becoming “the next Zlatlan Ibrahimovic” if Pep Guardiola continues to “squander” him at Man City.
Haaland has enjoyed great success after joining Man City last summer. He scored 28 goals in 26 Premier League games, including four hat-tricks.
But goals have slowed in recent months for the Norwegian. And Richard Keys thinks the striker’s performances are suffering due to his lack of service at the Etihad.
Haaland’s plight reminds pundit Richard Keys of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, whom Pep Guardiola struggled to integrate into his team when he was Barcelona manager. The Swedish striker joined Barca in 2010 from Inter Milan, only to be loaned back the following season, before being sold to AC Milan in 2011.
Ibrahimovic failed to integrate into Pep’s system, leading to him falling out with the Spaniard and being dropped from the Nou Camp. And unless Pep makes some drastic changes to City’s play, Keys fears that Haaland could follow in Ibrahimovic’s footsteps.
Keys wrote on his eponymous blog: “Haaland is fantastic. He has everything you want in a No. 9, but Pep Guardiola is wasting him. Haaland needs opportunities. He needs the ball into areas. The area where he can use his strength and speed. It’s almost as if Man City are trying to starve Haaland of those things.”
“Do you remember when Pep Guardiola signed Zlatan at Barca, but couldn’t figure out how to get the best out of him? So he sold Zlatan after a season. Pep always said Zlatan had ‘problems’ personality issues’. Of course there is. Zlatan quickly gets fed up with not getting what he needs.”
In the recent match against Palace , Haaland was the only scorer to bring back 3 points for Man City. But that was only 1 goal on the penalty spot. Haaland is even the lowest-scored player on the Man City side according to Sofascore (6.2 points).
