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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Kieran King

Jamie Carragher explains difference Erling Haaland will make to Man City in blunt verdict

Jamie Carragher does not think Erling Haaland will make a 'huge difference' to the Premier League title race because of the quality Manchester City already have at their disposal.

City confirmed the arrival of the 22-year-old forward from Borussia Dortmund in a deal worth around £51million earlier in the transfer window. Haaland scored on his unofficial debut against Bayern Munich on Sunday, tapping home Jack Grealish's cutback from close-range.

It was an impressive first appearance for Haaland, who made some intelligent runs in behind and always looked a threat when City attacked. He started in a front three alongside Grealish and Riyad Mahrez, with Kevin de Bruyne and Bernardo Silva in behind. When delivering his verdict on Haaland's move to City, Carragher does not believe he is a 'game changer' but has backed them to win the Champions League.

"I still think City are favourites," he said on talkSPORT. "But I don't think Haaland is a game changer for them in terms of winning the league. They win the league now, they already get 95 to 100 points.

"Are they going to get 110? There's only so many points in a season. I think Haaland is the icing on the cake for the Champions League and if he's playing away in Madrid, they don't lose that game.

"I think that is the difference he will make. He won't make a huge difference to the league because City are that good anyway. I think when you look at what Liverpool did to catch City and get to that level of 90 plus points, they bought Alisson, Van Dijk - they were game changers.

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Erling Haaland scored on his unofficial Manchester City debut against Bayern Munich (Getty Images)

"They took Liverpool from a team who got 75 points to a team looking to get 95 points. City are already at that level so I don't think it's going to be like that for Haaland, but you'd think with a striker like him and the players they have around him, it will give them a great opportunity in the Champions League."

Haaland was the first of four signings City have made in the transfer window, with Julian Alvarez arriving from River Plate, Kalvin Phillips joining from Leeds United and Stefan Ortega making the switch to become the club's back-up goalkeeper. Meanwhile, there has been some outgoings.

Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko have both signed for Arsenal, while Raheem Sterling joined Chelsea in a £45million switch and Zach Steffen has made the move to Middlesbrough on a season-long loan.

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