Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has been affected the most by a decision Pep Guardiola made at the Premier League club during the summer.
The Norwegian superstar has started the 2025/26 campaign in tremendous form, scoring seven goals across City’s opening six games of the season. This is surprisingly the worst start the striker has made since joining the Manchester club in 2022.
This season has seen a difference in the 25-year-old though, as Haaland has added more layers to his game by helping his team defensively and has become more of a leader on the field.
Haaland was added to Guardiola’s leadership group during the summer, and this one decision has played a key role in the Norway international’s current form.
Erling Haaland is embracing his leadership role
Since being added to Guardiola’s leadership group, Haaland looks like he has grown an inch at Man City, as the Norwegian superstar seems to have his aura back after a tough campaign last time around.
Peter Crouch views Haaland as being unstoppable at present, and the former striker is not the only one, as it is clear that defenders are thinking the same, as evidenced by the 25-year-old having his way with most he has faced so far this season.
The superstar has taken the next step in his development as he is now showing that he can help out his team defensively, drop deeper to create for his teammates, and still score lots of goals.
The decision Guardiola made over the summer now seems like a genius idea, as the changes in leadership at the Manchester club over the summer seem to have benefited Haaland the most.
Many doubted that the 25-year-old could take on this extra responsibility, and it will now prepare the Norwegian perfectly to eventually take over as captain of the Manchester club.
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Will Erling Haaland be Man City’s next captain
Guardiola selected Bernardo Silva as his captain for the 2025/26 campaign, but with the Portuguese star expected to leave the Manchester club at the end of the season when his contract expires, the role will once again be up for grabs.
The main contender for the job will be City’s current vice-captain, Ruben Dias, but Haaland should not be ruled out of the running.
Guardiola recently admitted that Haaland could be a future Man City captain, and if the Norwegian continues to perform in the way he currently is, there is a good chance his manager could select him to lead his team into the 2026/27 campaign.
This would be a huge honour for the 25-year-old, and it would be interesting to see if the Man City superstar could go up another level again.
