Erling Haaland would provide "long-term value" for Manchester City even if the club have to splash the cash to sign him as a replacement for Sergio Aguero, says Richard Dunne.
City and Aguero confirmed on Monday that the Argentina striker will be leaving when his contract expires at the end of the season.
A glittering 10-year stint at City after signing from Atletico Madrid has seen him become the club's record goalscorer with 257 strikes to his name.
City were already being linked with Borussia Dortmund sensation Haaland before the Aguero announcement.
Haaland has been prolific since signing for Dortmund in January 2020 and reportedly has a €180million asking price with all of Europe's top clubs likely to pursue him in the transfer market.
Even though Haaland would be an expensive addition, Dunne – who was a City stalwart between 2000 and 2009 - thinks it is a move worth making.
"If you are looking for a number nine, someone who is going to get you goals and is going to be long-term value for money, I think Haaland is the one," Dunne said to Stats Perform News.
"He is still very young, he is obviously proven in his first club [Salzburg], and he has moved on to Dortmund.
"He has been amazing and has scored goals in the Champions League. He looks like a good bet in terms of who is going to be able to do it long term.
"He's 21 this year, he's got plenty of years ahead of him. For me he seems the most exciting [potential Aguero replacement].
"It would be great to see him in the Premier League. You can see him fitting into that Man City team where his job is basically stand in the middle of the box and score goals.
"City create so many chances and hopefully he'll be able to get the opportunity to score a handful."
Dunne believes the upcoming Champions League quarter-final tie between Dortmund and City gives Haaland an opportunity to make a statement to Pep Guardiola, even though the Premier League side will already know everything about him.
He continued: "It is not so much an audition - Man City, there's a documentary on their scouting network and how they go about their things.
"It's never about one game, they're going to know everything about Haaland if he signs. Same on any other striker.
"But the opportunity to go and prove yourself, and show your potential new club, potential new manager what you can do, I'm sure for Haaland he'll feel like it's a great stage for him to go make a statement.
"It's great that he scores goals in the Champions League, he's done it. I think the next objective is to score goals against big teams in later rounds of the Champions League.
"This is a huge opportunity for him, and I'm sure Man City will have done their homework. They'll be praying to god that it's one of those nights that he doesn't have a good one and they can keep him quiet."
If City do not go down the route of a big-name signing, Dunne believes they are well prepared based on this season to get results without an established number nine, even if that is not an ideal scenario.
He expects to see enhanced roles for Gabriel Jesus and youngster Liam Delap in the future.
"I think Manchester City have sort of come up with a system that works for them without Aguero," said Dunne.
"If Aguero was fit and available all the time, I'm sure he would have played, and Guardiola would have liked to have that number nine in the team.
"So I'd imagine, he will probably look for a centre-forward. Someone so they have options, they can change things around.
"Gabriel Jesus is still there. He's obviously going to take a bit more responsibility. In the youth team they have Liam Delap who is starting to break through. They have options within the club.
"But whether they go and spend huge amounts of money on Haaland, or someone like that, I don't know.
"They tend to be really good with their transfer business and a lot of stuff has been done under the radar and then they produce a star from nowhere.
"I think they'll be happy enough with what's in the squad, add Ferran Torres to that as well, they've got enough."
City are 14 points clear at the top of the Premier League and are still in with a chance of winning the quadruple in Aguero's final season.
Shaw, Layzell on target as Man City stun holders Barcelona in Women's Champions League
Naomi Layzell enjoyed a dream Women's Champions League debut as her goal and assist helped Manchester City stun holders Barcelona 2-0 on Wednesday.
Layzell was playing her football in the Women's Super League last season with relegated Bristol City, but was the star of the show at the Joie Stadium.
City were making their first appearance in the competition since falling to a 4-2 quarter-final loss to the Catalan side in March 2021, and exacted their revenge with a plucky display.
The hosts, however, almost found themselves a goal behind with just three minutes on the clock when Caroline Hansen took aim and saw her effort cannon off the post, shortly before Lauren Hemp struck the woodwork with a strike of her own.
City grew into the contest and almost got the goal their performance merited in the 35th minute when Vivianne Miedema teed up Khadija Shaw, only to see her effort saved by Cata Coll.
But from the resulting corner, Gareth Taylor's side got their noses in front as Miedema brilliantly headed the ball from the back post and back into the danger area, with Layzell sliding in to mark her Champions League debut with a goal.
Barcelona had only failed to score once in their past 79 games heading into the encounter, and improved after the interval in their search for an equaliser.
Aitana Bonmati forced Ayaka Yamashita into making a smart save down to her right, with substitute Claudia Pina going close from distance as City were forced to withstand a relentless wave of pressure from the defending champions.
But the hosts landed a sucker punch in the 77th minute on the counter, with Layzell turning provider for Shaw, with the striker riding the challenge of Patri Guijarro before rounding Coll to seal a memorable triumph for City.
The Citizens ended the contest with an expected goals (xG) total of 1.68 compared to Barca's 1.5, despite having four fewer shots than their opponents.
Gareth Taylor's side sit level on points with Hammarby in Group D, after the Swedish side beat Austria's St. Polten 2-0 earlier on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, in Group C, Juventus edged out Norwegian side Valerenga to kickstart their campaign with a victory at the Intility Arena.
Sofia Cantore's 29th minute strike proved to be the difference, with the Italian curling a fine right-footed effort beyond the grasp of Tove Enblom against the run of play.
Juventus continued to struggle throughout the contest, with Valerenga registering 25 shots, with six of those on target, ending with an xG total of 2.2.
Man United's Diallo withdraws from Ivory Coast squad
Manchester United's Amad Diallo has withdrawn from the Ivory Coast's Africa Cup of Nations qualifying double-header against Sierra Leone due to illness.
Diallo, who has made six appearances for his country, has since returned to Manchester ahead of the Red Devils' upcoming Premier League fixture against Brentford.
The 22-year-old earned his first cap for the Elephants in 2021, and was recalled to Emerse Fae's group after a 15-month absence in June for wins over Zambia and Chad.
Ivory Coast know that two wins against the Leone Stars will seal their progression to the tournament, which takes place in Morocco at the end of next year.
A statement by the Elephants read, “The Ivorian Football Federation informs the Press and the public that the player, Amad DIALLO, arrived in group on Monday October 7, 2024, as part of the 3rd and 4th Days of the CAN qualifiers Morocco 2025, is declared forfeit for health reasons.”
Diallo is the latest player within Erik ten Hag's ranks to withdraw from international duty with their respective nations.
Argentina's Alejandro Garnacho, England's Kobbie Mainoo and Morocco's Noussair Mazraoui are the other players left out as a precaution.
Diallo has made 10 appearances for United this season in all competitions, scoring once in his side's 2-1 defeat to Brighton at the start of the 2024-25 campaign.
However, he has yet to fully nail down a starting berth, with Ten Hag so far rotating his wide options with Garnacho and Marcus Rashford.
Daniel Maldini the missing piece to Italy puzzle, believes Spalletti
Italy head coach Luciano Spalletti believes Daniel Maldini has been the creative spark the national side has been lacking ahead of their Nations League clash with Belgium.
Maldini could follow in the footsteps of his father, Paolo, and grandfather Cesare, both former Italy captains, should he represent the Azzurri at the Stadio Olimpico on Thursday.
The 22-year-old came through the ranks at Milan, managing 24 appearances in all competitions and scoring once, but spent three seasons out on loan from 2022 to 2024.
Maldini spent the second half of last season on loan with Monza before making his move permanent in July, netting five goals in 19 outings to help Raffaele Palladino's side to a 12th place finish in Serie A.
Now under the guidance of Alessandro Nesta, Maldini has begun to flourish, completing more dribbles (12) than any of his team-mates in the league so far.
The young Italian was one of four players given their senior call-up by Spalletti for their Nations League fixtures against Belgium and Israel, with the Monza forward replacing Lazio's Matteo Zaccagni.
And Spalletti is confident Maldini can make an impact, saying: "He is the (kind of) player we were missing."
Italy come into the contest off the back of an impressive opening to their Nations League A2 group, beating Israel and France last month.
After a disappointing Euro 2024 campaign that saw them lose to Switzerland in the round of 16, Spalletti insisted that their encounter against Belgium is crucial to their development.
"We will immediately become a great team in every match where we will be able to give the best of ourselves," Spalletti said.
"It is a crucial match for our future."
Spalletti, however, has his eyes set on the 2026 World Cup, a tournament the Azzurri have won on four occasions throughout their history.
But Italy failed to qualify for the 2018 and 2022 editions of the competition, but have since won the European Championships against England in 2021 under Roberto Mancini.
While Spalletti signified the importance of the World Cup's influence on the Azzurri's illustrious history, he said his players must focus on each game as it comes.
"It is a tournament that has determined our history, it has made many people happy," Spalletti concluded.
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