Pep Guardiola handed major Everton boost as Manchester City forward withdraws from international duty

Erling Haaland returned to Manchester City over the weekend to rest and recuperate ahead of this weekend’s Premier League clash with Everton

The 25-year-old has been in sensational scoring form this term and after scoring the winner in Manchester City’s 1-0 win away at Brentford before the international break, the former Borussia Dortmund man netted a treble for Norway in their 5-0 win over Israel last week.

Haaland has been a key reason for Manchester City turning a corner since their early season slump and it is imperative for any hopes of a title challenge that the Blues keep their talisman fit and firing amid a gruelling fixture schedule.

City are in fifth place in the Premier League table after seven games and are set to welcome Jack Grealish and Everton to the Etihad Stadium this weekend, wherein three points can take the Blues to top of the table – albeit briefly.

Haaland has scored 12 times in all competitions for Manchester City this season and as Guardiola and co navigate a period of change on and off the pitch, the Leeds-born star has remained unfazed in the face of the turbulence and change in personnel around him.

Having witnessed his architect-in-chief and best friend in Kevin De Bruyne and Jack Grealish leave the club in the summer, Haaland has gone about his business just fine and is in the best form of his career in his fourth season at the Etihad Stadium.

City failed to mount a challenge for the Premier League and UEFA Champions League titles last season and after being appointed to the first-team captaincy group in the summer, Haaland has led by example on the pitch as he aims to inspire a new-look dressing room to a fifth Premier League title in six seasons.

Guardiola has erred on the side of caution when discussing Manchester City’s evident over-reliance on Haaland and called on for his wingers to improve their attacking output as the season progresses, with goals yet to start flowing freely from midfield too.

In a major boost to Manchester City and Guardiola, Haaland withdrew from the Norway National Team camp and returned to England over the weekend and will not be involved in his nation’s battle against New Zealand on Tuesday, as reported by Fotball Norge.

Guardiola and officials at the Etihad Stadium will be very cautious in managing Haaland’s workload as the season goes on but it is difficult to imagine the Norwegian getting much rest given he has become indispensable for a Manchester City side that saw several big-name stars leave in the recent transfer window.

With no obvious back-up striker in the senior ranks since Julian Alvarez’s departure, it would be left to Omar Marmoush to operate as a false nine should Guardiola ever wish to start Haaland on the bench – underpinning the need for reinforcements down the middle in the 2026 January or summer transfer windows.

Manchester City are no expected to enter the 2026 January market for forwards as things stand, however, though there is an outside chance of director of football Hugo Viana assessing the market for a new right-back should an opportunity too good to turn down present itself midway through the season.