Pep Guardiola is confident that Erling Haaland will return to form as long as Manchester City improve their overall play, though he has not ruled out potential signings in the January transfer window to revive the Premier League champions’ fortunes.
City are experiencing their worst run under Guardiola, having won just one of their last 11 matches across all competitions and losing eight. This slump has coincided with Haaland’s struggles, with the prolific striker netting just once in his last five outings after being deprived of service and chances.
Despite the lack of goals, Guardiola insisted he has no intention of dropping the Norwegian or reverting to a ‘false nine’ system, a formation he has used successfully in the past.
Guardiola believes the issue lies with City’s overall play, which has not been producing the same number of chances as in previous seasons. “When he’s surrounded by two or three or four central defenders, it’s not easy for him,” Guardiola explained. “We have to play better and create more space for him.”
Although City rarely venture into the January transfer market, having only made one significant winter signing under Guardiola – Aymeric Laporte seven years ago – the manager acknowledged that this season’s unique challenges could prompt a change in approach.
“We’ll see,” Guardiola said, referring to potential winter transfers. “We’re not big fans of the winter market, but this season has been special. We’ll see if something is possible, and if not, we’ll wait until the summer.”
