For now, Haaland is focused on helping City – who are working under Guardiola’s successor, Enzo Maresca – chase down major honours. He is taking on more of a leadership role after seeing the likes of Bernardo Silva and Rodri follow Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan out of the Etihad.
Pressed on who else needs to step up after seeing so much experience depart, Hamann added: “Obviously it’s always a chance when very powerful and big characters in the dressing room leave, it’s always a chance for others to step up and obviously somebody has to take the mantle, because they’ve been hugely successful.
“They’ve got Ruben Dias still there, who’s the leader in the team. In [Gianluigi] Donnarumma they’ve got a keeper who’s seen it all, who’s still very young, but he’s been around for a long time, and I think these are the guys.
“Because in Elliot Anderson, in [Ayyoub] Bouaddi, they’ve got two very talented players in the middle, but they need to be led. Bouaddii comes into a new league, so he might take a few weeks to adapt. I like both players very much, I’ve got to say, and I think it’s a very important part, as we know, the engine room – this is where you win and lose games, so I think they need Dias, they need Donnarumma.
“Obviously as a keeper you haven’t got that much influence, and Haaland, I think he probably has to take on a different role, because in the last few years there were players there where he probably didn’t have that full responsibility. What’s happened in the dressing room, that’ll change now.”