Haaland contract, Marmoush deal, £60m double transfer - Man City's frightening team of the future
Erling Haaland's breathtaking new Manchester City contract sent shockwaves through football on Friday and delivered a real statement of intent from the Etihad.
The 24-year-old has signed a nine and a half year deal to tie him to City until 2034. Haaland has spoken of his delight at securing his long term future amid links with a move to Real Madrid and with manager Pep Guardiola penning a new two year contract earlier in the season, City now have stability with manager and star striker.
And the January transfer window will yield more moves with the Blues having verbally agreed a deal with Eintract Frankfurt for forward Omar Marmoush. City are also progressing with the signings of defenders Vitor Reis from Palmeiras and Abdukodir Khusanov from Lens. Those three signings will pass the £100million mark as the City rebuild begins in earnest.
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Captain Kyle Walker is set to leave the club while the likes of Ilkay Gundogan, Mateo Kovacic, Bernardo Silva, Ederson, Stefan Ortega and John Stones all 30 or over. Kevin De Bruyne is out of contact in the summer with uncertainty surrounding the 34-year-old's future while Jack Grealish has struggled to make an impact this season amid reports linking him with an exit.
It means City are all set for a changing of the guard with fresh faces complementing existing youngsters. And the quality on show will strike fear into most of the Premier League.
Haaland and Marmoush are excellent striker options while Savinho, 20, has shown his quality in recent weeks and looks a star of the future and Phil Foden is a world class operator in the prime of his career. Jeremy Doku, 22, has talent to burn and will only get better as his adjustment continues while Oscar Bobb, due back from injury in the next few weeks, offers another high quality attacking option.
In midfield, Rodri is only 28 and if he can recapture his best levels after his knee injury then the Spaniard will continue to be the City lynchpin for years to come. James McAtee's future is uncertain but should he remain at the club then he could develop into a first team option in the centre of the park. Claudio Echeverri will join City next month and the highly rated 19-year-old could breakthrough in the coming months.
Josko Gvardiol and Rico Lewis are long-term full back options while Jahmai Simpson-Pusey has broken into the first team this season and is highly rated. Ruben Dias has plenty left in him at 27 and while Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake are both 29, they are going to be fixtures for the foreseeable. Throw in Reis (19) and Khusanov (20) and the defence is packed with quality for the here and now and potential for the future.
In goal, City will likely need to invest in a long-term successor to Ederson despite Ortega showing his worth when called upon but with keepers having a longer shelf life than their team-mates, it's a move that can wait and there are several exciting options out there for City to potentially chase.
Gianluigi Donnarumma is arguably the best young goalkeeper in the world at 25 and is playing for a PSG side in transition. Marco Carnesecchi at Atalanta is impressing in Italy and is just 24 while Lucas Chevalier is doing likewise in France with Lille and is a year younger. Porto's Diogo Costa (25) could be another option while Dortmund's Gregor Kobel, at 27, is another keeper performing well in Europe.
