Pep
Guardiola dismissed suggestions that Erling Haaland is not happy at Manchester
City on Friday as he said the Norwegian is ready to make his first start in two
months.
Spanish
media have speculated in recent days that Haaland could turn
his back on City for Real Madrid after being surprisingly overlooked
for the top individual awards despite Guardiola's men winning the
Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup last season.
However, Guardiola said
the 23-year-old will have a smile back on his face now that he
is fit after a foot injury. "You have to ask the media from Madrid if
he is unhappy," said Guardiola on Friday.
"We
don't have that feeling that he's unhappy. He was because he could not
play - he was two months out injured - but maybe the media from Spain,
especially Madrid, have more information than us."
Haaland made his comeback as a second-half
substitute in City's routine 3-1 win over Burnley on
Wednesday. The English champions are not in action until
Monday when they travel to Brentford.
"Yes,
he's ready (to start)," added Guardiola. "Everyone is ready
right now because they are not injured as much. If they are on the
bench, they are ready."
Haaland
failed to find the net on his return but remains the Premier League's top goalscorer with 14
in 16 appearances this season. And Guardiola is confident the
goals will quickly flow again once his talisman is up to speed.
"He
played 25 minutes and every transition, every pass, all the players look at
him. I know how important he is for us," said Guardiola.
"We try for all the strikers to be happy, especially him, and it will depend how we play. If we play quite comfortable and good, he will get a lot of balls. This is what we want and after that he will do the rest."
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