Dean Saunders has said that in his opinion, Erling Haaland is set to have a slight drop-off in the 2023/2024 season.
Speaking on talkSPORT, the well-known pundit did maintain that this does not meant that the Manchester City superstar will not be a force to be reckoned with.
However, Dean Saunders believes that even so, Erling Haaland could have a decline in form, albeit not a significant one.
Dean Saunders expects Manchester City striker Erling Haaland to experience a slight drop-off
Last season, the ‘elite’ £51.3 million (Optus Sport) man scored a staggering 52 goals in 53 games across all competitions.
The Norwegian striker also managed to break the Premier League’s all-time goal record in a single season with an incredible 36 goals to his name.
While Dean Saunders expects Erling Haaland to be a menace for defences once again next season, he also foresees a decline in his threat.
“I don’t think he’ll score 50-odd next season, because you get stung by a striker and you don’t realise until you play against them. ‘I didn’t realise he was that quick, I didn’t realise he makes that move. I didn’t realise he was just waiting on the shoulder for [Kevin] De Bruyne to slide him inside me. I didn’t realise he pulled away from me.’
Dean Saunders named how many goals he expects Erling Haaland to bag in the following campaign, saying, “So, defenders who are clever, top defenders don’t get mugged again. It’s like teams who come up from the Championship and then they mug you, and in the following season, you’ve worked it out. I think he’ll get 40 but I don’t think he’ll get 50 again.”
Doubt Erling Haaland at your own peril
While Dean Saunders’ rationale does make sense, it takes a brave man to question the treble-winner in any capacity.
Even when Manchester City’s chance creation was far from its brilliant best, the former Borussia Dortmund talisman was breaking goalscoring records.
It would not even be an outlandish take to suggest that the 23-year-old may be the best goalscorer the game has ever seen, at least at his age, which makes Saunders’ prediction one that could fall flat on its face.
