Pedri urges Barcelona to sign 'cyborg' Erling Haaland as long-term replacement for Robert Lewandowski

The Polish striker is already at the twilight of his career at 35 years of age. Although Lewandowski has scored nine goals in 21 appearances this campaign, the returns are bleak compared to the high standards he has set for himself in the past. This shows that the former Bayern Munich man is on the decline and the Blaugrana might have to look for an alternative in the near future.

Anticipating Lewandowski's eventual retirement, Pedri identified Haaland as the ideal replacement, praising the City striker as a "cyborg" who scores prolifically. When asked by Twitch streamer Ibai Llanos who would be his dream signing, he said: "I would sign [Lionel] Messi if he were 19 or 22 years old, but currently I would sign Haaland. He is a cyborg and scores a lot of goals. Lewandowski is not going to last until he is 60."

Haaland boasts of having 71 goals and 14 assists in 75 appearances across all competitions for City and was a crucial figure in propelling them to a historic treble in the 2022-23 season. However, the Norwegian is currently nursing a stress fracture in his foot which has seen him miss the FIFA Club World Cup along with City's last four fixtures in the Premier League.

Barcelona are already looking into the future and have signed Vitor Roque from Athletico Paranaense in a €35m (£30m/$39m) deal. He has been handed the No.19 shirt for the rest of the season which will see him follow in the footsteps of Lionel Messi, as the World Cup winner wore the same number in his first two seasons at Camp Nou.

Pedri is currently injured, but is being tipped to return to action after the Spanish Super Cup in the third week of January against Real Betis in La Liga. Haaland, meanwhile, will be missed by Pep Guardiola when City play their first match of 2024 against Huddersfield in an FA Cup third-round clash on Sunday. He is expected to be out for the next few weeks as there is no timeline yet for the star striker's return.