Martin Keown gave an insight into how he would have tried to tame Manchester City striker Erling Haaland if he ever came up against him.
Speaking on Kammy and Ben’s Proper Football Podcast, the pundit and legendary centre-back was quizzed about how he would have dealt with the £51 million (Sky Sports) man.
Now, Martin Keown has revealed how he would have restricted Erling Haaland if he had the chance of locking horns with him.
Martin Keown explains how he would stop Erling Haaland
Branded as ‘incredibly intelligent in the box’ by Kolo Toure (via BBC Sport), the Norwegian goalscorer is largely regarded as the best striker in the world.
Described as the ‘world’s best footballer’ by Rasmus Hojlund, the treble-winner has terrorised defences ever since he burst on to the scene for RB Salzburg.
Martin Keown has now elaborated on the steps he would take to keep Erling Haaland quiet, saying, “Well, I would be bullying him. Or attempting to. The first contact would come from me, not him. So, you’ve got to disrupt him. So, basically, you’re going to have to fight fire with fire.”
Keown continued, “But you’re going to have to be a big boy and you’re going to have to be brave, and you’re going to have to be very tough because he’s going to come after you if you’re going to come after him.”
“But I think you need to get into his head much more than you are…”
It is easier said than done to stop Erling Haaland
Being an all-time great of a defender in Martin Keown, one can understand why he backs himself to at least know how to limit Erling Haaland.
But despite Haaland being quite limited in possession and this being known to the masses, his ruthless finishing, astute movement inside the box and one-of-a-kind athleticism makes him one of one.
As a result, while the Leeds-born striker may seem controllable in theory, the same cannot be said for him in practice.
