Manchester City unveils Erling Haaland – Sbk Sports Mail

Manchester City has confirmed the signing of Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund.

The 21-year-old will join the Club on 1 July after penning a five-year deal which keeps him at the Etihad Stadium until the summer of 2027.

The son of former City player Alfie, who signed almost 22 years ago to the day, Haaland junior is widely regarded as one of Europe’s best strikers and arrives at the Club with a formidable goalscoring reputation following impressive spells at Molde FK, Red Bull Salzburg and Dortmund.

A 21-cap Norwegian international, Haaland scored 86 goals in 89 games in two-and-a-half seasons with the Black and Yellows, winning the German Cup and the Bundesliga Player of the Season award in 2020/21.

Haaland’s career so far has been characterised by one thing: goals.

He has hit the back of the net at an astonishing rate in the six-years since his professional debut and his attributes mean he is the archetypal centre-forward in every sense of the word.

Strong, tall, quick, good in the air and capable of scoring a variety of goals off either foot, he will provide this City side with the option of an out and out striker that has been unavailable since Sergio Aguero departed last summer.

Born in Leeds, where father Alfie was then plying his trade in the Premier League, the family moved to Bryne in southern Norway when the younger Haaland was three-years-old.

He joined his hometown club before the age of 10 and progressed through the youth set-up to make his debut in the Norwegian second tier three months shy of his 16th birthday.

A move to Molde followed and a winning goal off the bench on his debut was a sign of things to come. He ended the 2018 season as the Club’s top scorer, netting 12 goals in 25 league games, whilst still only 18 years of age.

His form in his homeland prompted Austrian champions Red Bell Salzburg to move for him in January 2019. He made five appearances in the second half of the campaign, but it was at the start of the following season that his career really took off and the wider world began to take notice of this prodigious scoring sensation.

It has been a similar story on the international stage, where the striker has registered 20 goals in 22 games for Norway.

He made his debut as a 19-year-old in a 2-0 victory over Malta in September 2019 and scored his first goal as he won his third cap against Austria 12 months later.

The following month he claimed his first international hat-trick in a 4-0 defeat of Romania, en route to winning the Golden Boot for the 2020/21 UEFA Nations League.

And his latest international goals arrived on Sunday as he scored twice in a 3-2 UEFA Nations League victory over Sweden.

A natural born goalscorer, Haaland will now look to replicate his success across the continent in the sky-blue of City.

SEASON-BY-SEASON STATS

2017/18: Molde

Played: 14
*Goals: 2
*Assists: 1

2018/19: Molde and Red Bull Salzburg

Played: 27
*Molde: 25
*Eliteserien goals: 12
*Eliteserien assists: 4
*Red Bull Salzburg: 2
*Austrian Bundesliga goals: 1

2019/20: Red Bull Salzburg and Borussia Dortmund

Played: 29
*Red Bull Salzburg: 14
*Austrian Bundesliga goals: 16
*Austrian Bundesliga assists: 4
*Borussia Dortmund: 15
*German Bundesliga goals: 13
*German Bundesliga assists: 2

2020/21: Borussia Dortmund

*Played: 28
*Goals: 27
*Assists: 6

2021/22: Borussia Dortmund

*Played: 24
*Goals: 22
*Assists: 7