Manchester City star Phil Foden hails Erling Haaland's impact at club following summer arrival
Manchester City star Phil Foden has lauded Erling Haaland for being in the right place at the right time, saying that the Norwegian has made the team's attack more versatile.
Since joining City from Borussia Dortmund, Haaland has been a force to be reckoned with. The £54 million man has scored for fun, bagging 42 goals in 37 appearances across competitions.
Foden, who has combined with Haaland for five goals, has heaped praise on the Norwegian superstar, admiring his ability to anticipate the ball’s movement in front of goal. Speaking after City’s 6-0 win over Burnley in the FA Cup quarterfinals on Saturday (May 18), Foden said (via the Daily Mail):
“It's a pleasure (to play with Haaland), I don't know how he does it. The one that I hit off the post, he always seems to be in the right place, expecting things, little ricochettes and things like that.
“The way his brain works, he always seems to be in the right place to finish the ball, and to play with a player like that it's always a massive boost for us because when it's a tight game and it's 0-0 and there's not a lot of chances, we've been relying on him to get us a goal, and it's a real pleasure to play with him.”
Explaining how Haaland has transformed City’s attack, Foden added:
“He's (Haaland) helped us in a way of finding a different way to play. In previous years, we didn't really have a striker, and now he's here, we've adapted a little bit, and we're even still getting used to him now, so it's good for the team, and it's only going to help us in the future. It makes my job easier being an attacking player and looking at someone that wants to score goals and is always ready and in the box, it makes it a lot easier.”
Haaland, who has broken City’s single-season scoring record, scored a hat-trick against Burnley. Before the FA Cup clash, he put five past RB Leipzig in a 7-0 (8-1 aggregate) win in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16.
Chelsea and Real Madrid could battle it out for out-of-favour Manchester City star
In a shocking turn of events, Manchester City loaned out Joao Cancelo to Bayern Munich in January. The Bavarians signed the Portuguese on a six-month loan deal with the option of making his stay permanent for £61 million.
According to journalist Steve Bates, Cancelo’s move came after he fell out with Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola. Bates reckons the former Juventus man will not play for the Etihad outfit again. With a return to Manchester City looking unlikely and Bayern showing no signs of activating his purchase clause, a summer transfer could be on the cards for Cancelo.
According to Calciomercato.com, Chelsea and Real Madrid are interested in signing Cancelo in the summer. With both Chelsea and Madrid lacking injury-free options on the right flank, it will not be surprising to see the two heavyweights battle it out for the 28-year-old.