Two English Premier League giants, Manchester City, and Liverpool have both announced the signing of their top transfer targets – Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund and Darwin Nunez from Benfica.
Man City completed the signing of Haaland last month but announced it officially on Monday while Liverpool secured the services of Darwin Nunez this week.
The two signings are among the most prolific strikers in the world and they are believed to be a big addition to the two English teams. The recent rivalry between the two teams means their prolific strikers are about to go head-to-head with each other next season.
Haaland vs Nunez: It’s All About Goals
Stats of Manchester City’s new signing Erling Haaland
The 21-year-old Haaland is known as a goal machine for both club and country. He has a good record of 86 goals in 89 appearances for Borussia Dortmund in just 1½ season in the Bundesliga.
The Norway hitman has played for Molde and RB Salzburg before joining Dortmund. He has scored 92 league goals in 121 appearances for the three clubs.
Haaland also has an impressive record in European competitions. He has scored 23 goals for both Borussia Dortmund and RB Salzburg after making a total of just 19 appearances.
However, he scored just 3 times in the last Champions League competition as Dortmund left the competition at the group stage.
Stats of Liverpool’s new signing Darwin Nunez
Uruguayan striker, Darwin Nunez bagged 48 goals in just 85 games during his time at Benfica for two years. Nunez, however, had his breakout season in the 2021/22 season as he netted 34 goals in 41 appearances.
Nunez made 10 appearances in the Champions League scoring six goals for Benfica, two of which came during the last-16 round against Liverpool.
What Pep And Klopp Think About Their New No.9
Manchester City has been without a true No.9 for over a season but still had an impressive 2021/22 season. However, Pep Guardiola knows what Haaland’s addition can bring to his team.
While speaking about the player in May, he said: “Definitely, he can help us score more. It is not about that. In the end, it is about winning games. I never thought that our defensive situation depends on the central defender and I never thought that the goals we score depend on the striker.
“He has scored a lot of goals in his career and we are going to try to help him through the game, having more chances to score goals. We are never going to give him the responsibility to score goals.
“We have to win games and if we are going to win games we need everyone doing it the best way, arriving as much as possible. After, of course, if we arrive there, with the quality that we believe he has, we can do it.”
On the other hand, Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp was full of praises for Darwin Nunez after the youngster played against his team in the Champions League.
Going into the second leg of the last season’s last-16 round, Klopp said: “Extremely good-looking boy, huh? And a decent player as well. Really good. I knew before, of course, but he played pretty much in front of me with his tough battles with Ibrahima Konate.
International Records
Erling Haaland has had a better record on the international stage than Liverpool’s recruit. The Norwegian striker made his international debut in September 2019.
Since then, the Norwegian has scored 20 goals in 21 games for Norway. This record puts him 14 goals away from going top of the all-time goal scorer chart of his country.
While Darwin Nunez made his debut for Uruguay in October 2019 and scored a goal in the game. He has managed a total of 11 appearances for the Uruguayan national team scoring just two times.
Haaland And Nunez Contracts
Manchester City secured the services of their 21-year-old new traditional striker for £51.2m. Haaland will reportedly earn around £375,000 per week at City. The contract will keep him at the club for five years.
While Liverpool spent a club-record fee of €100m to sign Darwin Nunez from Benfica. The 22-year-old signed a six-year deal with the Merseyside team which could earn him £98,000 per week.
