Manchester City striker Erling Haaland was in ruthless form once again last weekend, hitting a brilliant hat-trick against West Ham United.
Haaland took his tally to seven for the season already with another treble, which came just one week after his hat-trick against Ipswich Town.
There was been much praise for Haaland over the past couple of days and rightly so.
The Norwegian sensation put on an absolute finishing masterclass against the Irons, and people are already starting to say he is nailed on for this season’s Golden Boot. Pundit Paul Merson certainly thinks so.
Haaland’s numbers are simply amazing, and yesterday on talkSPORT, Graeme Souness raved about the Manchester City number nine and also shared why some people are actually ‘mistaken’ about him.
Souness hails ‘machine’ Haaland and suggests Man City star is on Ronaldo and Messi trajectory
With his three goals against West Ham, Haaland is now on 97 in 102 games for City which is just absurd.
It’s obviously very nearly a goal a game, which is mind-boggling to consider with him having been at the club for just over two years and with City playing in the Premier League and Champions League.
The scary thing is that Haaland is still only 24. He is around three years away from the start of his peak, and he can become even better.
There is no doubt about it – Haaland is currently putting up numbers we have not seen since Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi were in their peaks.
Yesterday on talkSPORT, Souness was speaking about Haaland and believes the City superstar is now on a trajectory like they both were.
He said: “Yes! I mean, he’s in a great team. He’s capable of scoring all types of goals.
“Very different (to Ronaldo and Messi), because of the lack of touches and the lack of perceived ability. But they’re mistaken. He’s got all the technique you need. He’s happy to have (only a) few touches as long as he’s getting two or three goals in a game.
“He is a machine. The other thing that’s really attractive about him is he seems so solid. He doesn’t get carried away when he’s scoring goals or missing a chance. He just seems to be the full package.”
Haaland belongs in Ronaldo and Messi conversation
There is no doubt at this point that Haaland should be considered to be on the same kind of trajectory as Ronaldo and Messi were around the same age.
The numbers of just remarkable.
Of course, Haaland is playing in an amazing team and gets wonderful service most weeks from the brilliant technicians he’s surrounded by. But Messi and Ronaldo also both played in brilliant teams and still shone individually.
The chances still need putting away and £51 million signing Haaland does that so incredibly well.
There is no reason why he cannot be the next big footballing superstar after Ronaldo and Messi – some would argue he is already there.
