Is Haaland Man City's ideal striker or a Zlatan-shaped problem for Guardiola?

A towering, razor-edged, and ruthless striker, Erling Haaland’s single-minded determination to be the best in the world seems to burst out from every venomous thwack of the ball into the net.

In everything he does Haaland cuts like a knife.

That sort of straight-lined football is not exactly synonymous with the Manchester City brand, which is why many believe the 20-year-old Borussia Dortmund striker is better suited to Manchester United, Real Madrid, or Paris Saint-Germain; teams who cherish individualism, who cherish the power of superstars and will massage egos if that is what it takes.

But there is something particularly alluring about the prospect of Haaland under Pep Guardiola, a clanging juxtaposition of styles that, like any such pairing in sport, would either re-mould each individual for the betterment of both - or clash spectacularly.

To put it another way, Haaland at the Etihad Stadium could mimic the symbiosis Sergio Aguero and Guardiola found together, or it could follow the story of Zlatan Ibrahimovic under Pep: a Ferrari driven like a Fiat, as Zlatan famously said.

Before we look into how Haaland and City could change each other, it is worth pointing out that the perceived differences are not as great as they are made out to be.

Haaland is primarily a traditional number nine. His key strengths are moving intelligently into space, sprinting explosively to out-think the defenders, and finishing with frightening consistency.

That is closer to the Guardiola ideal than you might think. Throughout Guardiola’s time at the Etihad, the aim of his patient and meticulously choreographed possession football has been to create relatively simple chances from inside the penalty area.

In City’s Centurion year, their archetypal goal was a low pass across the face and a tap-in at the back post, which is a theme still present in the way City look to get forwards in behind, look to square the ball or recycle the play as often as necessary to present an easier chance.

Gabriel Jesus’s goalscoring record speaks to this. All 13 of the Brazilian’s goals in 2020-21 have been scored within eight yards of goal, and 23 per cent have come from Jesus being played in behind with the sort of through ball that Haaland would gobble up.

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Aside from Lionel Messi’s deployment as a false nine at Barcelona, Guardiola has always used a proper striker when possible: Aguero and Robert Lewandowski excelled from the sheer number of penalty-box chances created, with surprisingly few of their goals requiring complex work from the centre-forward in deep positions.

Guardiola does not ask for a Roberto Firmino, because with so many midfielders, wingers, and even full-backs bursting into the number 10 space there is already more than enough creativity supporting the number nine.

Of course, a Guardiola striker still needs to work effectively outside the penalty area. Jesus excels here while Aguero, after an awkward transitional year, eventually began to understand his instructions and link the play more frequently from deeper positions. Haaland, then, would have to adapt his game. But he is already working on this.

In recent months Haaland at Borussia Dortmund has shown selflessness in the final third, and by dropping into deeper positions has used that sharpness of thought to play clever one-touch passes to his team-mates.

Make no mistake, Haaland is still raw – still has plenty of work to be a Guardiola striker – but the potential is there. And that determination to be the best - the humility and hard work in training that Haaland is known for - suggests a re-education under Guardiola would be the perfect next step in his career.

Just do not expect Pep to talk about any potential deal ahead of City's Champions League quarter-final first leg against Dortmund , even if his agent Mino Raiola and father Alf-Inge have begun their European tour in order to seek out the best destination for their man.

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Haaland may share Ibrahimovic’s swagger, but not his stubbornness: he is more like Cristiano Ronaldo in that regard, which means he will listen closely to the world-class coaching Guardiola would provide.

As for City, the influence of Haaland would take them up a notch. This, after all, is a striker constantly on the move, scoring low-percentage chances and creating them seemingly every other minute with his intelligent runs.

Once he is in sync with Guardiola’s demands, Haaland would provide that against-the-grain tactical advantage we often see from the unexpected bluntness of Kevin De Bruyne’s creativity.

De Bruyne is a good example of how Guardiola is often misrepresented as an idealist, when in reality he adapts significantly to the qualities at his disposal. The basic tactical principles stay the same, but Guardiola is highly flexible and evolves dramatically to fit the aesthetic he is given; De Bruyne’s and Aguero’s huge success within Pep’s philosophy point to a similarly fruitful relationship with Haaland.

In short, Haaland’s intelligence and technical ability means he would fairly easily soak up Guardiola’s methods to become a world-class link-up striker, while Guardiola and Man City would in turn be refreshed by a slight change in direction with a lethal finisher in his peak. Each party would change the other. Both would be the better for it.

One concern City fans should have is whether they can afford Haaland. Guardiola recently described a move for the Norwegian as “impossible” because of the economic climate, and yet City would appear to be in better financial shape than most other superclubs.

It is hard to believe City Football Group will not stump up the reported €180 million (£150m/$210m) fee, given Haaland will surely only appreciate in value over the coming years.

And Haaland would be wise to pick City, a finishing school that would push him to radically improve the weaker parts of his game.

He is not the perfect fit right now, but that is cause for excitement, not alarm. Just imagine what would emerge from the lab that fuses the DNA of Guardiola and Haaland.

Whether Guardiola's feud with Zlatan and Haaland's agent, Raiola, impedes things is another matter.