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A pundit has emphasised the ‘scary’ Erling Haaland statistic which should have Manchester City’s Premier League rivals Liverpool and Chelsea worried for next season.

The Norway striker has been a target for Manchester United and Barcelona in recent months. But it is now the Citizens and Real Madrid fronting the race.

And according to recent reports, Manchester City have overtaken Los Blancos to put themselves within touching distance of Haaland’s capture.

The Daily Mail claim Pep Guardiola’s side have agreed personal terms with the Dortmund ace ahead of his potential transfer to the Etihad.

They appear set to meet his £63million release clause, although the signing will cost far more than this in total. That’s due to his huge wage demands and Mino Raiola’s agent fees.

But the massive expenditure could be worth it if it takes City way ahead of Liverpool and Chelsea in next season’s Premier League title race.

Former City goalkeeper David James is excited by the potential arrival. While appearing on Sky Sports, he said: “What a signing if they can get Haaland for £63m. 21 years old, 22 in July, a scary prospect with regards to the goals he’s already scored.

City backed to ‘get more out of Erling Haaland’

“But if you can imagine him in arguably a better team, which City definitely are, you imagine they’ll be able to get more out of him. Fantastic.”

When asked if Haaland would change City’s style, James added: “With City losing to Liverpool in the FA Cup semi-final, the argument would be they need a number nine to do something different. He can obviously do the number nine role quite comfortably.

“I think he might have to change the way he plays himself, rather than changing the whole system around him. The beauty of this is at 22 years of age going into next season, he’s young enough to change the way he plays.”

James then named a frightening statistic which could trouble English clubs from 2022-23 onwards.

“The scary thing about Haaland is most of the goals he scores are doubles or more rather than singles,” James said. “So when he scores he’s hot, but quite often he doesn’t score.

“So if he goes to City, Pep’s gonna have to find a way of getting him scoring more regularly, rather than just loads in short bursts.”

The Sky Sports presenter then quizzed James on whether Haaland could change the face of the Prem.

“Let’s see what happens,” he responded. “When Jack Grealish signed for £100million everyone thought that was gonna be the changing point, then Romelu Lukaku at Chelsea.

“Haaland going is a fantastic prospect for City, he’s proving himself for Dortmund at the moment. But obviously it’s how he fits in and how things work, whether he’s the defining signing to take City to the next level.

“The Premier League is just getting stronger and stronger with signings like Haaland, if that goes through.

“It’s interesting, in that video he’s walking with Jude Bellingham. If Erling Haaland goes I don’t think it’ll be too long before Bellingham joins him.”

READ MORE: ‘I know his agent’ – Club chief provides insight into possible Man City raid this summer

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