Sport
Erling Haaland will break the Premier League’s all-time scoring record if he stays at City long enough
The records keep falling for Erling Haaland. Never before had a player scored hat tricks in three successive Premier League matches before the Norwegian struck three times in the derby demolition of Manchester United. Before Haaland, Michael Owen had been the quickest to reach three Premier League hat tricks in 48 games. The Manchester City striker did it in just eight.
Haaland has scored 14 goals in his first eight Premier League games for City with the 22-year-old giving Pep Guardiola the sort of out-and-out centre forward they have lacked since the departure of Sergio Aguero. Some questioned whether the Norwegian would adapt to his new surroundings at the Etihad Stadium. Those questions have been emphatically answered.
Such has been the instant impact made by Haaland in the Premier League it is reasonable to ponder where he could rank among the English top flight’s true greats. At his current rate of scoring, the 22-year-old will break the Premier League’s all-time scoring record within the next five years.
Of course, it might be realistic to keep up his rate of a goal every 47.5 minutes, but time might be the only thing stopping Haaland from one day bettering Alan Shearer’s long-standing record of 260 Premier League goals. The Norwegian is already the most devastating goal-scorer of his generation and City have given him a platform to do all kinds of damage.
“At his age no one can compete with him,” Guardiola said after watching Haaland score three times in the Manchester derby victory over Manchester United. “The numbers speak for themselves and inside, in the locker room, and on the pitch we see things that are not in the stats that make us feel happy to have him here.”
Haaland might have joined Manchester City only a few months ago, but there is a growing sense that the 22-year-old’s stay at the Etihad Stadium will be a relatively short one even if he is a resounding success there. Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid have all been linked with the striker in the past.
“I think Erling wants to prove his abilities in all leagues,” Alf-Inge Haaland recently explained, adding to the idea that his son will play for a number of clubs over the course of his career. “Then he can stay there [Manchester City] for three or four years at the most. He could be, for example, two-and-a-half years in Germany, two-and-a-half years in England and then in Spain, Italy, France, right?”
A five-year contract was signed by Haaland upon joining City, but some speculation has swirled that a release clause will become active after a certain period of time. Recent reports claim Real Madrid still want to partner Haaland and Kylian Mbappe in the same team and are already plotting a move.
Some might question why Haaland would ever want to leave Manchester City, at least while Guardiola is still in charge. The Norwegian isn’t the most effective in possession, but he now plays for a team that creates chances for him almost at will. At City, Haaland can be one of the very best for the next decade.
The frightening thing for opposition defenders is that Haaland is still growing and developing. That is already clear in his play for Manchester City so far this season with the Norwegian a sharper passer than at any other point in his career. Haaland also looks stronger in the air and is getting on the end of more crosses. He is getting better and better.
