Erling Haaland's impending arrival at Manchester City was confirmed last week. Opinions quickly circulated about the potential impact of the Borussia Dortmund striker, with the large majority of pundits in agreement that he's almost certain to prosper in England.
Pep Guardiola has been on the look out for a new striker for around two years, but the Etihad club have now addressed their void by signing one of the very best. Still just 21 years-old, Haaland could explode in the Premier League.
Ex-City midfielder Nigel de Jong expects him to do exactly that. The Dutchman was full of praise for his former employers after they secured the signature of the BVB marksman, describing him as a 'proper nine' while appearing on beIN SPORTS.
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Given the number of chances City tend to muster under Guardiola, the expectation is that Haaland will catch fire once moving to English shores. He will be surrounded by a whole host of playmakers, each of whom should generate plenty of opportunities for him to find the net.
While Haaland almost seems guaranteed to hit the ground running, a period of adaptation could be in order before City get to grips with how to maximise his skill set.
After De Jong's praise of the Norwegian striker on television, he was informed that Haaland makes fewer passes than any other leading goalscorer in Europe.
"Not just fewer, he is miles back," said the beIN SPORTS presenter. "Karim Benzema makes 41 passes per 90 minutes. Kylian Mbappe, 38.9. Mohamed Salah, 35. Haaland is right down there on 22, ranked 129th out of 193."
De Jong was quick to make light of the numbers. "It is such a useless stat," he said. "They bought Haaland to score goals, passing statistics don't mean anything."
His perspective is understandable, but the figures in question do offer an insight into how much adaptation will have to happen between now and the start of next season.
Haaland has been signed largely because of his knack for finding the back of the net, that much is difficult to argue. However, the numbers suggest he's not particularly inclined to engage in build-up play based on his time in the Bundesliga.
Unlike the likes of Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Gabriel Jesus, Bernardo Silva, Raheem Sterling, Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez to name but a few, Haaland primarily stays away from the ball until a moment arises for him to score.
Rather than helping his team construct moves, he seems to be the type who is fielded purely to add the finishing touch, as a poacher of sorts who dedicates all of his attention on finishing chances.
City have operated without a player like that for some time, as Guardiola has essentially developed a strikerless system comprising of a team of midfielders. Haaland is so good that he's worth accommodating, but that could prove to be more challenging than many are anticipating.
The Etihad side will proceed to move away from a strikerless attack which saw everybody contribute to everything, and towards more of a traditional approach which incorporates one dedicated scorer at the summit of the system.
The change could be drastic and difficult to enforce but in Guardiola, City have the world's best coach on the case to make the transition as smooth as possible.
