Football News

“Everybody expects a lot” — Kevin De Bruyne raves about Man City’s latest signing Erling Haaland

By Ben Green

Published: 14:56, 3 June 2022

Kevin De Bruyne has heaped praise on Manchester City’s latest signing Erling Haaland, saying “everybody expects a lot” of the Norwegian sensation.

City completed the £51.5m signing of Haaland from Borussia Dortmund last month, ending intense speculation on the 21-year-old’s future, with the Norwegian set to revolutionise Pep Guardiola’s frontline after the Catalan coach went the entire 2021/22 season strikerless.

Haaland comes to the Premier League with a stratospheric reputation after netting 86 goals in 89 games for Borussia Dortmund across three campaigns, winning the Bundesliga Player of the Season award in 2020/21 as a result — a season in which he also finished as the Champions League’s top goalscorer.

With Guardiola once again coming up short in Europe’s flagship competition, he will be hoping Haaland can bring that added edge to guide his club to Champions League glory, as well as staying fiercely competitive in the Premier League title race and both domestic cups.

Incredibly, despite top scoring in the Premier League and finishing just one strike shy of 100 goals, City didn’t have a player to net over 15 goals, with De Bruyne finishing as the club’s most prolific player. Nominally a creative force, De Bruyne says he’s relishing having a striker who can score 20 plus goals alongside him next term.

“Erling Haaland is a top striker,” De Bruyne told Belgian outlet Het Laatste Nieuws.

“His move should help us to grow as a team. Everybody expects a lot. We’ve always been looking for a number nine.

“I think it’ll be good to have that striker that maybe scores [between] 20 [and] 25 goals [per] season.”

He added: “Maybe [his arrival might help me too].

“There have been years that I have more assists [than this season]. But my chance creation and other things have remained consistent. Numbers are a part of football but they never tell you the full story.”

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