"He’d keep Mbappe on the bench if he wasn’t listening" - Ex-England striker makes bold claim on Pep Guardiola and Manchester City new boy Erling Haaland

Former England striker Gabby Agbonlahor believes Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola will bench Erling Haaland if the latter doesn't adhere to his tactics.

The Cityzens recently announced that Haaland had officially arrived at the Etihad Stadium from Borussia Dortmund. He is rumored to have joined on a transfer worth around £51 million as per GOAL. The Norwegian is the latest big-money acquisition City have made since Guardiola's arrival at the club.

While many believe he is the striker the side have been looking for, Agbonlahor feels Haaland will have to adapt to Guardiola's style of play. The former Aston Villa forward told Football Insider:

"No matter who you are, Pep’s the main man. Haaland will have to adapt to Man City. There are other top, top players who have done it over and over again, winning league titles.”

Agbonlahor, who has played more than 300 times for Villa, added:

“Haaland will come in and have to adapt to the way City play. If Pep says, ‘Stop dropping and coming short, go long’ or maybe he says, ‘Make sure you stay in and around the box, don’t be coming to join in play’.”

He concluded by opining that if Haaland fails to tweak his playing style to suit Guardiola's demands, he will find himself on the bench:

“He has to do that or he’ll be on the bench. You play Pep’s way or you don’t play at all. He won’t care about keeping you on the bench, no matter who you are. If it was Mbappe, he’d keep Mbappe on the bench, if he wasn’t listening to him. When you’ve won what Pep has won, you get that respect.”

Manchester City notably made a splash last summer as well by signing Jack Grealish from Aston Villa for £100 million. Despite being the most expensive Premier League signing of all-time, Grealish's slow start to life at City saw him make only 22 league starts in the 2021-22 season.

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"I think I can develop a lot under Pep" - Manchester City striker Erling Haaland

Haaland has only just joined Manchester City, but already seems keen to start working under Pep Guardiola. In his first interview since joining the club, the 21-year-old said (as quoted by Sports Illustrated):

“I think I can develop a lot under Pep and at this club. I think I can get better on a lot of things, and hopefully, I can score a lot of goals.”

The Norwegian prodigy will join the Cityzens after an extremely productive two-and-a-half seasons with Borussia Dortmund. Haaland recorded an incredible 86 goals in just 89 matches across all competitions for the Bundesliga outfit, in addition to laying out 23 assists. He also helped them win the DFB-Pokal trophy in the 2020-21 season.