Manchester City chief executive Ferran Soriano insists the Blues signed Erling Haaland for goals and not for his marketing potential.

Manchester City spent £51million to sign Haaland from German club Borussia Dortmund.

Speaking to the Dr Football Podcast, Soriano said: “I have to say we are very excited.

“But I want to tell you honestly, that all the football additions or signing additions are taken through a football lens, not a marketing lens or celebrity lens.

“So we think Txiki [Begiristain] and Pep and the whole group, they think very carefully about the players that they need for the team and this is what they sign.

“In this case, it happens to be Haaland’s profile, I think you’re right that he’s developed his profile as a superstar, but this is not the reason we signed him.

“We signed him because we think that he’s going to score a lot of goals and he has the intelligence to adapt to our system. The system is very complex.”

He continued: “If you see the intensity in the way that they discuss how they’re going to play, it’s very sophisticated.

“You need to be a very sophisticated player to be able to adapt to this, and we think Haaland will do.

“But I promise you it’s a football decision. It’s not a marketing or celebrity decision.”

Meanwhile, Premier League rivals Chelsea reportedly want Manchester City star Raheem Sterling as replacement for Romelu Lukaku.

The Belgium international striker failed to impress at Chelsea last season after his big money move from Inter Milan.

Following Lukaku’s loan move to Inter Milan, Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has now identified Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling as his ideal replacement.

Sterling has just one year left on his Manchester City contract and has so far refused to extend his contract with the England international keen on leaving Manchester City this summer.