Pep Guardiola has insisted he doesn't care how many goals Erling Haaland bags for Manchester City this season. Haaland is set to make his Premier League debut when his side takes on West Ham this Sunday and expectations are high following his £51m summer move from Borussia Dortmund.
During his time in Germany, the Norwegian helped himself to a staggering 86 goals in just 89 appearances while also registering 23 assists.
However, the pressure is already on for him to get off the mark for Man City after he missed a sitter against Liverpool in the Community Shield last weekend.
What has Guardiola said about Haaland's goalscoring?
"I don't know how many goals he will score and I don't care," the City manager said at his pre-match press conference.
"As much as he is, does what he has done in his young career. We are not going to win for Erling or lose for Erling, we have to be ourselves. He's quick, he's a guy who played 90 minutes last week for the first time in five months, he's a big figure physically, maybe needs more time to get to conditions.
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"If he has doubts he'll score goals, he will score goals, he has done every year. Just adapt the way he plays, and we will adapt the final third to him. I don't have any doubts but [how many] goals he will score I don't know."
Will Haaland get off to a quick start at Man City?
On paper, Man City's opening run of Premier League fixtures are kind and should provide ample opportunity for Haaland to get on the scoresheet.
After travelling to West Ham and hosting newly-promoted Bournemouth, they make the trip to St James' Park to face Newcastle. Next up is a charity friendly against Barcelona at Camp Nou.
Back-to-back Premier League home games versus Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest follow shortly after.
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