Erling Haaland, one of the most promising football stars in the world, may be an injury doubt for Saturday’s Premier League clash between Liverpool and Manchester City. However, his meteoric rise to stardom is undoubtedly beginning to make waves in the football world.
Haaland’s rise to fame
Haaland’s emergence as a star began at RB Salzburg, where he scored 28 goals in half a season in 2019, including five hat-tricks and eight goals in the Champions League. One of his goals came against Liverpool in the group stage, where RB Salzburg rocked up at Anfield. His 18th goal of the season was also against Liverpool. Jurgen Klopp was impressed with Takumi Minamino’s performance during that match and signed him for Liverpool afterward.
Haaland turned down Manchester United to join Borussia Dortmund before eventually signing with Manchester City last summer. He has quickly become one of City’s finest players, scoring 42 goals in 37 matches.
International break developments
The international break has temporarily taken the focus away from club football, but speculation about transfers is still rife. The Norwegian striker, Haaland is among the most talked-about transfer prospects lately.
Liverpool offered the chance to sign PSV midfielder Ibrahim Sangaré, who rejected West Ham’s offer. Meanwhile, Real Madrid is speculated to activate “Operation Haaland” in summer 2024 when a release clause in his Manchester City contract allows him to leave.
A comparison of Darwin Núñez and Erling Haaland’s performances
Liverpool and Manchester City invested heavily in new strikers Darwin Núñez and Erling Haaland, respectively. Both players have almost completed 70% of their debut campaigns in England so far.
Haaland is currently the division’s top scorer by quite some distance, while Núñez has scored eight times. However, Núñez has played fewer minutes and hasn’t benefited from the luxury of penalties as Mohamed Salah has taken control over those valuable situations at Anfield.
Moreover, Núñez has been forced to play away from his customary position as a central striker due to injury issues on Merseyside. Nevertheless, he is averaging more shots on goal than Haaland, consistently posting 5.1 shots per 90 minutes this season.
While Núñez may have missed 17 significant chances, Haaland missed 20, ranking at the division’s top in this regard. Nonetheless, Núñez’s performance leaves little doubt that he is destined to explode in the near term, based on the numbers attached to his game. Klopp might have to wait until next season before that evolution happens, but once it does, he could have another record breaker on his hands.
In conclusion, Erling Haaland’s rise in football is undoubtedly impressive, and all eyes will be on him come matchday against Liverpool. Whether or not he makes it onto the pitch promises to be one of the high points of this Premier League matchday.
Image Source: Wikimedia Commons
