Mirth
Yes, but the reason why City can rest Haaland like that is because Alvarez is good enough to be a title winning striker himself. It's a luxury that no other club in football has (having second string players who are almost, if not as good as the first string). It's why Saka and Salah and other players like them have to learn how to play so much football because normal clubs don't have great alternatives so the talismen have to learn to endure.
Mahrez on his day is every bit as good as both if not better than Saka at least, and he's been used very sparingly this season. City have that luxury, and if we did, then I'm sure Saka would be managed with fewer minutes but we need to find a player as good as Saka to enable that. Look at how Martinelli is being managed since Trossard's arrival.
That's why I think we need to approach Nelson's replacement the same way we did Trossard, which is sign a player who can sit Saka on the bench. If we approach it that way, then we'll benefit but if we view it through the lens of signing an understudy, then we won't sign someone who is good enough to give the manager the confidence to rest Saka more frequently.
