What Haaland’s new deal means for Manchester City | OneFootball

News has broken of Erling Haaland signing a stunning new nine-and-a-half-year contract at Manchester City, tying the Norway international down until the summer of 2034.

While there was no suggestion that Haaland would look to leave the club anytime soon, his decision and the club’s offer of fresh and extended terms can only mean good things are to come.

Haaland, 24, was already a prolific goalscorer at the highest level when he joined City in a £60 million move from Borussia Dortmund in 2022. In the time since, he has registered 111 goals in 126 games, collecting two Premier League titles, an FA Cup, the Champions League, and a Super Cup.

As a result, City continue to be in the running to win the big trophies according to football betting online markets, regardless of the team’s slump this season. A disappointing domestic campaign leaves City sixth in the Premier League, while there’s work to be done to secure Champions League progress. Wednesday’s crunch clash at Paris Saint-Germain is crucial to both sides.

And it’s arguably this that makes the timing of Haaland’s decision to commit the rest of his career to the club in the main that makes it all the more intriguing.

City were going for their fifth Premier League title in a row this season, and were looking good for it too. However, the loss of Rodri to an ACL injury came as a huge blow, and form has slumped, with an uncharacteristic winless run occurring. This led to speculation the team’s top players, including Haaland, could look to make a swift exit if things didn’t change.

While City will argue they were always confident of keeping Haaland, especially as his previous deal was due to run until 2027, there were always talks of a clause in his contract that could be triggered by clubs such as Real Madrid . The new long-term deal signed by the Leeds-born Norway star has removed any such clauses, which ultimately means that Haaland will be staying around unless City ever decide to cash in on him.

As a twenty-four-year-old, Haaland is still short of hitting his prime, so City will have him for his best years, which are still to come. The recent problems City have had on the pitch have seemingly made the club and manager Pep Guardiola determined to begin transitioning the squad into a new and fresher era. Captain Kyle Walker, 34, has asked to leave, and it’s expected ageing stars like Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin De Bruyne will follow suit.

City’s transfer business in January will see the arrival of defenders Vitor Reis and Abdukodir Khusanov, 19 and 20, respectively. A deal is also close to being agreed for Eintracht Franfkurt forward Omar Marmoush, 25. A new era is about to dawn on the pitch, an era that Haaland is not only going to be part of, one that he wants to be a part of, and will likely be a player to lead the transition from the old to the new.

If what City and Guardiola had planned didn’t appeal, Haaland, knowing he’d have his pick of clubs in world football, wouldn’t have been willing to tie himself down under contract until the age of thirty-four. So, while the good times may not be on the horizon this season, they look set to return in the near future, and Haaland believes that to be the case, too.

Read – Eight talking points ahead of the Premier League weekends

See more – Guardiola: Haaland ‘realised there is no better place’ after signing City contract

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