Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher believes Manchester City may opt against signing Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland this summer.

The former Liverpool defender says City manager Pep Guardiola’s disinterest in going after marquee signings and his tendency to play without a recognised no.9 could count against a bid for the highly sought-after Norwegian:

“I have stated before that if Guardiola had taken over Manchester United in 2016, or any other club with similar resources, they – not Manchester City – would be celebrating multiple Premier League title wins in the years since. That is down to the coaching, not just massive spending, with Guardiola and his recruitment staff identifying the right characteristics rather than joining auctions for the most coveted, superstar players. That’s one of the reasons why I am sceptical as to whether Guardiola will sign Erling Haaland for a record fee.”

“It could be that Haaland is too good to ignore, but having started to perfect his formula of a ‘team of midfielders’, that would demand a tactical compromise. Since he joined City, we have seen how ambivalent Guardiola is about what we consider a typical No9.”

“He demanded more outside the penalty area from [Sergio] Agüero, often prepared to leave him out of the biggest fixtures. Would Guardiola seek to replace him with an out-and-out goalscorer whose status and fee demands selection every week?”

Both are interesting points that Carragher makes. City’s record signing is Rodri, a defensive midfielder, who cost £62.5m. That’s significantly below the £130m that Dortmund are reportedly demanding for Haaland. Guardiola has also said the Citizens are unlikely to spend £100m on one player.

On top of that, Guardiola has been more prone to playing a false nine this season, although how much of that is down to the injuries suffered by Sergio Aguero, it is not known.

It will be interesting to see to what extent City do compete with the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea for Haaland’s signature.