Erling Haaland Manifests Kevin De Bruyne's 2022/23 Output For Manchester City

Manchester City’s new signing Erling Haaland has broken his silence on the prospect of playing with the club's goal creator in chief, Kevin De Bruyne.

Haaland, 21, joined Manchester City in a £51.2 million move from Borussia Dortmund in early June, which saw the Norwegian international sign a five-year deal with the Premier League champions.

The blockbuster transfer came after City had been playing for the best part of two seasons without a recognised striker.

Manager Pep Guardiola outlined Erling Haaland as the perfect player to solve the problem, with few strikers in Europe being able to boast as clinical a record as the young Norwegian.

Guardiola’s new player scored a whopping 85 goals in just 88 appearances for former side Borussia Dortmund, showing a lethalness rarely seen elsewhere in the world.

Manchester City themselves are no strangers to having the world’s best and clinical players, with current midfielder Kevin De Bruyne especially proving year in year out in the Premier League that he is a cut above the rest.

The Belgian international has secured 121 assists for Manchester City since his arrival in the summer of 2015, which is more than any other Premier League player in that period.

Understandably, the sky blue faithful has been excited at the thought of what seems to be a mouthwatering link-up between the two players, and Haaland has now had his say on the matter.

Kevin De Bruyne: “Erling Haaland is a top striker. His move should help #ManCity to grow as a team. Everybody expects a lot. They’ve always been looking for a number 9, but I think it’ll be good to have that striker that maybe scores 20-25 goals a season.” [via @HLNinEngeland]

— City Xtra (@City_Xtra) June 2, 2022

City’s new number nine spoke to reporters at an official presentation with fans at the weekend, alongside fellow new signings Stefan Ortega and Julian Alvarez.

When asked about the prospect of their link-up and his presence in the team increasing the Belgian’s assist tally, the striker gave back a playful answer to the reporters.

“I hope for him he will get more assists this season,” said Haaland.

Evidently, Haaland shares the same belief in the link-up as the Manchester City supporter base, and this is good news for Pep Guardiola’s side who are looking to fight on all four fronts again in the upcoming campaign.

Despite winning the Premier League title for the last two consecutive seasons, City will look to reclaim their crown for a third time, as well as chase the three cups available to them.

In amongst the spoils on offer is the esteemed Champions League, which the club are yet to secure, despite reaching the final as recently as 2021.

To have a real chance of achieving this unprecedented feat, Manchester City know a little more firepower is needed and Erling Haaland’s link-up with Kevin De Bruyne may just prove to be just that and lead to them bagging their holy grail.

Kevin De Bruyne on Erling Haaland: “Maybe [his arrival at #ManCity might help me too]. There have been years that I have more assists [than this season]. But my chance creation and other things have remained consistent…”

— City Xtra (@City_Xtra) June 2, 2022