Manchester City are about to complete football. With Erling Haaland rumoured, arguably the best team in the world could be about to become unstoppable.
82 goals in 85 Borussia Dortmund games, 29 in 27 for Red Bull Salzburg, 15 in 17 for Norway: if the Scandi striker goes to Eastlands, there's a fair chance that he's racking up over 30 goals next season for a team who create more chances than he's ever been given before.
But given how well Pep Guardiola has adapted post-Guardiola, do City even need Haaland? Would he even fit in? And what happens to the existing players at the club?
What's the likeliest Manchester City line-up with Erling Haaland?
With that goalscoring record, surely not even Guardiola can play Haaland anywhere else other than up front… right? Though there are multiple options in every position, it seems pretty like the City line-up is pretty predictable with this addition.
Guardiola's football tends to come with a year-long learning curve at City (see Bernardo, Mahrez, Rodri and Cancelo), so it's natural to assume that Grealish plays a more prominent role next season. Phil Foden takes up the right flank with the £100m man on the left – though knowing Pep, those two could well switch to become touchline wingers, supplying for Haaland.
The other players all slot into place. No more need for Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva or Ilkay Gundogan to moonlight as false nines.
Could Haaland play anywhere else?
Once upon a time, Guardiola signed a player very similar stylistically to Haaland. Zlatan Ibrahimovic was a bold move for a Barcelona team that had operated with Lionel Messi as a false nine – and it didn't quite work out.
The friction between Zlatan and his manager can be put down to a clash of personalities. Guardiola is said to prefer "midfielder" type personalities: players who look for the pass and try to see the whole game as opposed to more… "selfish" players. Haaland is an elite poacher, a killer in the area and will probably want to remain within the box.
It's interesting that when Guardiola rocked up at Bayern, he initially wanted to convert Franck Ribery into a false nine. When that didn't work, Robert Lewandowski was signed a season later. Lewandowski wasn't used anywhere other than up front – and neither was Sergio Aguero, who actually had to earn his boss's trust.
Having said that, it's not impossible that Haaland could be used out wide, drawing centre-backs out of position to create space or being used as an aerial outlet for long balls. Post-Guardiola, though… who knows?
Will anyone leave City as a result of Erling Haaland joining?
Of players who could purely play in forward roles, Manchester City could boast Haaland, Grealish, Sterling, Foden, Jesus, Mahrez… along with youngsters Cole Palmer and Liam Delap.
Six into three means that either City could rotate every other game or someone's going to leave – and we've not counted the likes of Bernardo Silva who can play in midfield or in a front three. With rumours that Bernardo, Raheem Sterling or Gabriel Jesus leaving last summer, could one depart this summer?
It's possible. All three have had excellent seasons, however, so maybe Mahrez will decide to call time on his Etihad career. The striker role seems to be filled simply by whoever's left and deserves a game right now – by this time next year, it might just be where the most important player at City plays.
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