Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1192401
25 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 15 DECEMBER 2019 SPORTS FOOTBALL AS the hectic festive period approach- es, Man City find themselves trailing league leaders Liverpool by 14 points and in the last two seasons the period has not been kind to the Blues. After defeats to Wolves, Norwich, Liv- erpool and most recently Manchester United this season, questions have been asked of Pep Guardiola's recruitment, or lack of, in the summer transfer win- dow. City were eager to secure Harry Magu- ire's signature in the summer but after refusing to pay the £80m price tag the commanding centre half would sign for the red side of Manchester. And with Vincent Kompany depart- ing, the decision meant City started the new campaign with three recognised central defenders, John Stones, Aymer- ic Laporte and Nicolas Otamendi. Initially, the gamble seemed to have paid off with Laporte and Stones start- ing the season well however disaster would soon strike, with Laporte suffer- ing a serious knee injury in City's 4-0 defeat of Brighton. It would only take two weeks for the cracks to begin to show, as City visited Norwich, slumping to a shock 3-2 de- feat, with Otamendi's limitations being fully exposed. Since then, City have been made to regret their transfer stance and it's time to break the mould in January to solve their defensive crisis. The perfect candidate for such a move could be Kalidou Koulibaly - and the gi- ant centre half has been subject to inter- est from Europe's top clubs over the last few transfer windows and it's not hard to see why. The 28-year-old has consistently de- livered outstanding performances for Napoli in the last few seasons and the centre half has made 200 recoveries this campaign while Virgil van Dijk, widely regarded as the Premier League's best defender, has only made 82. Koulibaly is also a pacy central defender, which would make him unique among City's current crop, and his dominance in the air would also be invaluable to Guardiola's side, who have often looked susceptible to set pieces. A January swoop for the Senegalese could prove to be the perfect antidote for City's defensive frailness however, it's believed Napoli chiefs wouldn't sell for anything less than £90million. The price tag is the obvious stumbling block, as City have made it clear they won't splash out and be held to ransom in an increasingly inflated modern-day mar- ket. However, if the bosses at the Etihad want to maintain their rivalry with Liv- erpool at the top of the division, they may be left with no choice than to hand over the war chest to Guardiola, in Jan- uary. Man City should break transfer mould for £90million defender MANCHESTER United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer report- edly flew to Salzburg on Friday to hold talks with Erling Braut Haaland. The teenage sensation has lit up European football this sea- son with his emphatic run of goalscoring form. Haaland has scored 28 goals in 22 games Red Bull Salzburg so far this season, making him one of the deadliest strikers on the planet. Clubs from across Europe have gone from keeping an eye on his progress, to actively holding talks to sign the play- er. Despite being heavily linked to Real Madrid and Barcelo- na, recent reports suggest the Bundesliga could be a more likely destination for Haaland. Borussia Dortmund are re- ported to have held discus- sions with the player and his entourage recently. Another German outfit linked to the Norwegian is RB Leipzig, who regard their link to Salzburg via Red Bull own- ership as a distinct advantage. It's reported that Leipzig boss Julian Nagelsmann has been in contact with the player regarding a move. However, according to the Daily Mail, it's Manchester United Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has made a more personal call by flying to Salzburg. Solskjaer is understood to have flown to Salzburg on Fri- day to make a pitch to Haaland in a bid to convince him to join the Red Devils. Haaland was signed by Solsk- jaer at Molde in Norway and the United boss also handed the 19-year-old his first pro- fessional debut. The pair's existing relation- ship has been cited as a poten- tial deal-breaker for United as they try and fend off the com- petition for Haaland's signa- ture. Erling's father Alfe Inge Haal- and, who played for a number of English clubs, has refused to fuel the fire of speculation sur- rounding his son. He told Norwegian newspa- per VG: "I hope you under- stand that I cannot comment on all the rumours that are go- ing on at the moment." It's believed Haaland has a release clause in his contract that is active in January, but whoever signs him may well loan him back to Salzburg till the end of the season. Solskjaer flies to Salzburg to accelerate Manchester United's move for Haaland - report