Pep Guardiola says it’s near “impossible” for Man City to sign a replacement for Sergio Aguero this summer.
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has ruled his side out of the race for Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland, saying it’s near “impossible”to sign a replacement for Sergio Aguero this summer.
Haaland, 20, sits atop the charts as the most sought after player in world football today, and sources have told ESPN that Dortmund, who face City in the Champions League quarterfinal first leg on Tuesday, are prepared to allow the Norway international to leave for €180m this summer – only 18 months after signing him for an initial €20m.
Haaland’s father and agent have already spoken to Real Madrid and Barcelona in Spain on Thursday, and are in the UK today to speak to a number of English clubs, with Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea heading the list.
The latest surprising howler is that despite the announcement this week that the Cityzens’ forward Sergio Aguero will beleaving the Etihad this summer at the end of his contract, City manager Guardiola said the club will not be able to afford Dortmund’s €180m valuation for Haaland even if he indeed becomes available this summer.
“With these prices, we are not going to buy any striker,” Guardiola said at a press conference on Friday. “It is impossible, we cannot afford it.
“All the clubs struggle financially and we are not an exception. We have Gabriel (Jesus), Ferrab (Torrs), a lot of players in the academy, and we sometimes play with a false nine. There are a lot of big chances that we are not going to sign a new striker for next season.
“We have enough players in the first team right now and interesting players in the Academy. It is a big challenge, for the situation in the world, because of the economic problems in world football, we are not going to sign any striker for next season.”
The City entourage heads to Leicester on Saturday with Aguero set to be in the squad as he prepares to wind down his career at the Etihad, 10 years after arriving from Atletico Madrid. He will leave having achieved the distinction as the top scoring non-Englishman in Premier League history and Guardiola acknowledged that Aguero is irreplaceable.
“We know how important he is in the present and past, so these decisions are never easy,” Guardiola said. “It is impossible to replace what he means for this club.”