Erling Haaland’s 115th month contract and Manchester City’s transfer plans – Every Word from Pep Guardiola’s pre-Ipswich press conference | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola has further discussed Erling Haaland’s staggering new contract committing the Norwegian’s future to Manchester City for another 10 years.

News of Haaland’s contract extension with the reigning Premier League champions comes amid widespread transfer activity from club officials, who are simultaneously building a new squad for the future of Manchester City.

But much of the club’s success will largely be down to their ability to retain current superstars in the team, including the likes of Erling Haaland, as well as Rodri, Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol, and Oscar Bobb among many others.

Manchester City’s ongoing and future transfer plans, brought forward due to the club’s ongoing run of uncertain form, was part of the talking points put to Pep Guardiola in his pre-match press conference from Friday afternoon.

Speaking ahead of City’s Premier League outing this weekend, part two of Pep Guardiola’s pre-match media address is now live and we’ve got every single word from the Etihad Stadium boss for you below!

On Erling Haaland’s new contract equating to 115 months

“It’s a lot, huh? Yeah, it’s a lot, a lot of time. (Coincidence?) Listen, I’ve been really, really pleased, I’ve said. Now we have to deliver. We have been more than 500 games and 485 maybe or more or less have been exceptional. And yeah, the last 12 or 13 have not been like we expect.

“But with a bigger picture, it’s been a dream! If Erling is here, he has to deliver, he has to perform well with the team, and push the team and the team pushes him and each other, and the manager will be with him, myself right now, and he has to deliver.

“So we have to continue to do it because it’s not, ‘OK now is perfect, everyone in the club is happy’, but now we have to do it!”

On legendary players such as Sergio Aguero, Vincent Kompany, David Silva, Pablo Zabaleta etc – once they arrive, they do not leave Manchester City but why

“What a players! I have the feeling that still you feel wanted, you feel they are happy to have us here. I think this the main reason, and after the success that we had because we cannot deny that as managers it depends on the success.

“And we had a lot, and we see that to do my job it would not be in a better place than now. Even now, I feel the same like it’s not maybe the best season that we have done so far, but it’s the same feeling I had when we had success or right now; it’s a good place to be.”

On whether Kevin De Bruyne will be able to continue setting up chances for Erling Haaland next season

“Yeah… Of course it can happen! I’m pretty sure when Kevin arrived at 22, 23 and maybe they offered 10 years (of contract) maybe he would accept it, I don’t know! But now it’s different; he has three or four (months left), of course it can happen!

“But I’m not thinking about next season and what happens. What happens is Ipswich Town, we don’t have much (time to rest) and three days later in Paris, and three days later is Chelsea. We have a tough month in February, a really tough month for the opponents we have to play, so this is what I’m thinking about. What happens next season, I’m not thinking for one second.”

On Kevin De Bruyne’s performance vs Brentford giving encouragement

“Absolutely! But it’s every three days, four days like everyone for me as well, for Kevin, for Erling (Haaland), for all the players, it’s so demanding the position that we are and the problems that still we have.

“I said after one or two or three games, it will take time to come back to our consistency but you have to try to get results in both competitions right now and we’ll see.”

On improvements in the physical fitness of Kevin De Bruyne and the Manchester City squad

“Absolutely! He knows that, he feels that, he talked with the physios, ‘Oh I feel better. I’ve been struggling a lot for five years, made an effort this season playing and with not any stops’. There is no player at that age, even younger, that cannot play being completely without niggles or problems.

“But there are problems that are more difficult to handle than the other ones, and Kevin struggled a lot with those problems and made an incredible work ethic. I saw him working as an animal to come back and being the best! And after he has a special quality that we know is unique in the world.”

On appearing more happy and optimistic than previous months – has something happened to lift spirits

“No… I’m sorry to tell you. I’m happy but not more happy; the extended contract (of Erling Haaland) I knew it 20 days ago, when he signed. He signed it already two weeks ago, three weeks ago and announced it today (Friday), and that’s why I was happy in that moment and now I’m just Ipswich Town and what I have to do.

“Of course I’m happy; not just Erling and the others ones in the past when important players signed the contract and we wanted them to stay. I’m really pleased because they give me a visualisation, ‘Oh we can win games, we can do it better’, and with Erling you are closer to winning games. But no, I’m fine, I’ve been fine, and I am fine.”

On whether he views the Erling Haaland contract signing and the imminent arrivals as a ‘new transition’ for himself

“Listen, last season we had the feeling that of course sooner or later we have to make some movements in the market. So we do it. We have to try, we’re going to try to do something right now what we have to do in summer, and it’s just we advanced a few months for the situation.

“We would not have done it if the players would be fit, but the same now I think today we have still one or two central defenders and no more than that. And holding midfielders we struggled, so the situation is we have to do it because we should do it sooner or later for what happened, eight years together, for many players getting more than 30-years-old, and especially the reason why is the amount of problems we have in player availability.

“That is simply the reason. It’s an absolutely normal process because otherwise we would not be in net spent the 11th team in the Premier League in the last five years! We would not be! We could do that? No we don’t have to do it.

“So when you make that record in the last five years – we have done in the past, yeah of course and years ago the big clubs in England did it all the time – and now for the reason that we are not consistent, the players are not consistent, we have to add players.

“We don’t have another option because we don’t have any alternatives. This is the only reason why. When the players will be fit, we will not go to the market, absolutely not. At the end of the season, maybe.”

On what age players peak at in modern day football

“Always we believe that with more experience you are better! Right? So it’s happened. But I saw players at 18, 19, 20-years-old being an unbelievable player and it looks like they’ve played 1,600 games and there are also players at 29 who still don’t understand anything.

“So it depends on everyone. There are players who settle immediately, need more time, everyone is everyone.”

On whether he has been happy with Erling Haaland’s fitness

“Absolutely. The situation what happened when he came from Dortmund and didn’t play this amount of games here in the Premier League and he struggled. I was concerned on that. But since day one he took his physio, he took his incredible professionalism and I think in all of the three years that he has been here, especially the first (year) and now, has been the very best in terms of that.

“Injuries are part of the game, we try to avoid it like everyone, but always I believe that a part of the injuries is you are not injured when here you are focussed and you have targets. And when that happens you live 24 hours for that and after that you are less injured.”

On needing a special talent and character to come in to potentially know they are going to be challenging Erling Haaland for nine years

“Yeah but the biggest strikers will not come to play or be a replacement for Erling. We have to find young (players), who accept the role, or can play in other positions like Oscar (Bobb) can happen, like (James) McAtee can happen, like Phil (Foden) can happen.

“I know it’s a completely different player, but maybe without Erling we play in a different way, we play with a false-nine, we’ll have alternatives, more runners from the outside, more runners from the channels inside, so we will find a solution.

“So cannot go now to buy (Kylian) Mbappe to be… Of course, Mbappe was an example to put a top, top, top, top, top class player to play differently. Normally we play with just one striker. So that’s why the club has this incredible news that we have (with Erling Haaland) and of course we have alternatives just in case Erling cannot play all the minutes and games, and we’ll have another options.”

On looking for a young player and learning from Erling Haaland would be a potential attraction

“Yeah we have it right now. Absolutely the central defenders when they were with Vincent Kompany, you remember? Always I said, ‘Look at Vinny. Better than what I said is look at Vinny every training session how he defends the boxes’, or like Ruben (Dias) now. Take a look!

“And of course the young players have that curiosity to be better and learn from the best players. I remember when I arrived the people said about the pockets, look at David Silva. When you are outside and don’t play, just take a look at how he moves, and that is the best lesson we can do.

“The young players or like the strikers, the movement from Erling in the box is unbelievable, how good he is, so just take a look and that is the best way to improve. Playing minutes and learning from the best, and the best we’ve had a lot in this era, in this 10, 12, 13, 14, 15 years!”