Paul Merson has now used Chelsea to send a warning to Manchester City – which involves Erling Haaland.
The 55-year-old sent the message when writing for Sports Keeda.
So, what did Paul Merson tell Manchester City? Let’s take a look…
Paul Merson sends warning to Manchester City
Well, the Sky Sports pundit has warned Pep Guardiola not to rush Haaland back from injury.
The Norway international missed Sunday’s 2-1 win over Luton as well as Wednesday’s 3-2 victory over Red Star Belgrade in the UEFA Champions League due to a foot injury.
Guardiola revealed that Haaland would be back in training on Thursday – but could not confirm whether the Norwegian will take part against Crystal Palace on Saturday.
The 23-year-old also missed some action due to an ankle injury earlier this season, and Merson has now pointed to Reece James at Chelsea as reason for Manchester City not to rush the Leeds-born striker back.
Writing for Sports Keeda, the Arsenal legend stated: “Erling Haaland is injured at the moment, but they have enough firepower without the Norwegian striker. Don’t rush him back – that should be the name of the game for Pep Guardiola and his side, as we’ve seen what happened with Chelsea and Reece James.
“They can afford to play without Haaland for a few games and that’ll also allow the towering striker to come back fully fit.”
Merson is spot on.
Interestingly, Manchester City have actually been linked with a move for James as a long term replacement for Kyle Walker.
Manchester City do not need to rush Haaland back
Manchester City can call upon a very reliable forward in Julian Alvarez to do the business in Haaland’s absence, as well as top talents such as Oscar Bobb.
Therefore, Guardiola should wait until the Manchester City No.9 is 100% fit before he names him in the starting XI once again.
If the Spanish rushes the talismanic forward back and worsens his foot injury as a result, it could cause Manchester City major problems in the second half of the season.
