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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Josh Williams

Pep Guardiola and Erik ten Hag must complete Erling Haaland and Cristiano Ronaldo assignments

Pep Guardiola's attack has worked in a specific manner for the past two campaigns. The Spanish coach has operated without a traditional striker and has instead deployed a whole host of technicians in the final third.

His players have rotated positions and taken turns occupying the spotlight in Manchester City's favoured 4-3-3 system. Goals have been spread across the pitch and everybody has been expected to work together, with no star presented with luxury duties.

Kevin De Bruyne ranks as his team's top scorer in the Premier League with just 11 goals - excluding penalties - yet Guardiola hasn't encountered any major issues because as many as eight of his players have found the net at least six times.

ALSO READ: Barcelona boss Xavi says Erling Haaland is only joining Man City 'for financial reasons'

Next season, everything could change, as Man City appear set to land Erling Haaland's signature from Borussia Dortmund.

Haaland is the polar opposite of what Guardiola has at his disposal right now. He's very much a traditional - albeit very modern - striker who thrives when allowed to finish his team's moves.

“If you have strikers like Lewandowski and Muller, you have to make crosses because they are so strong in the box," the Etihad boss once said. "For Sergio Aguero, we have to find other solutions. The way we finish the attack depends on the qualities of the players.”

This summer, with Haaland on board, Guardiola will surely have to rip up the current make-up of his attack in order to maximise the qualities of his new star.

The nature of the high-profile transfer consequently bears some similarities with that of Cristiano Ronaldo, who moved to Manchester United from Juventus last August.

Much like Haaland, Ronaldo has evolved over the course of his career to become the ultimate poacher. The Portuguese star is a deadly finisher and when presented with opportunities to score, he rarely disappoints.

As Ronaldo has aged, he's dedicated less and less of his energy towards other departments. Goals are his priority and his team almost has to work around his skill set to get the most from his presence.

Upon his arrival in Manchester last summer, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was essentially forced to adapt to him, much like Guardiola to Haaland in the coming months if the Norwegian does sign as expected.

Solskjaer seemed to struggle - largely because the balance of his team was unsettled - and United's season has since spiralled, with Ronaldo scoring more Premier League goals alone than Paul Pogba, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Edinson Cavani, Anthony Elanga and Anthony Martial combined.

The immediate future of the 37 year-old remains to be seen but he is still under contract for another campaign at Old Trafford, with Erik ten Hag effectively tasked with the same job as Guardiola this summer.

In essence, both Man City and United will begin to reconstruct the dynamics of their attacks this summer, with Guardiola and Ten Hag having to explore ways to accommodate strikers who behave as supreme penalty box threats.

The former will have more of an established base to work from considering his tenure at the club began six years ago, but then Ronaldo has more experience of English football than Haaland.

As next season approaches, the success of each coach and his respective marksman will be a curious development to follow.

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