Erling Haaland has not reached the heights expected of him this season.
The Norwegian striker has been a major hit amongst the Etihad faithful since moving to Manchester from Borussia Dortmund in 2022; however, with Pep Guardiola’s side struggling overall throughout the current campaign, that has had a major impact on the 24-year-old.
Haaland has admitted that he has not been good enough this season, yet the Norway international still has 30 goals to his name, and he can still add to that over the coming weeks, with multiple games to be played across the Premier League, FA Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.
Despite this, Jamie Carragher still believes Haaland has been Man City’s best player this season, and with room to improve for the 24-year-old, family friend of the Haalands, Jan Åge Fjørtoft, has told Guardiola that one Man City star will be crucial for the Norwegian next season
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Omar Marmoush important for Erling Haaland at Man City
Being a former Eintracht Frankfurt player, Fjortoft knows Omar Marmoush very well, while the Norwegian pundit also played with Haaland’s father, Alf Inge, and has remained in close contact with both his former international team-mate and his son since.
The striker is set to return to Man City action this weekend as Haaland has now recovered from his ankle injury, and commenting on the season of the Norway international, Fjortoft told ESPN FC that Marmoush will be a key factor in the 24-year-old bouncing back next season.
“You see his stats, this is a terrible season for Erling Haaland,” Fjortoft said. “He has played in a struggling team. He’s playing in a team where he never gets crosses. He plays in a team that never plays on the counterattack, that he has is his strength, and still he managed to score 30 goals.
“I don’t think they had a good preseason. I don’t think their recruitment was good. I think Marmoush will be a good player for Erling, because he likes that. He doesn’t like to play with a striker next to him, but he likes to have movement around him because he’s so clever.”
Marmoush has been a big success at Man City since moving to the Premier League as part of a £59m deal with Frankfurt in January, and that is expected to continue into the new campaign.
With Kevin De Bruyne set to leave Man City this summer, Guardiola will need to bring in players to create chances for Haaland, which could leave the Manchester club’s forward line looking very different to what started the 2024/25 campaign.
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What Man City’s forward line could look like next season
Florian Wirtz is Man City’s top target for the summer, and should the Manchester club successfully recruit the German star, that would be a big boost for Haaland and his goal-scoring chances.
The Norwegian will also be hoping for Phil Foden to find the form he showed last season, which would create a very tasty forward line at the Etihad Stadium.
| Season | Games | Goals | Assists |
| 24/25 | 40 | 30 | 4 |
| 23/24 | 45 | 38 | 7 |
| 22/23 | 53 | 52 | 9 |
Haaland would lead the line for Guardiola’s men, with Marmoush on the left, Foden on the right and Wirtz operating through the middle. While Jeremy Doku and Savinho will provide a change of pace when opponents get tired late in games.
Liverpool expect Man City to bounce back next season and with attacking talent like this, it is hard to see the Manchester club not having success throughout the 2025/26 campaign.
