Erling Haaland looks capable of breaking the Premier League goalscoring record set by Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer.
Haaland has scored 96 Premier League goals, while Shearer bagged a stunning 260 and that record has stood since the Newcastle United great retired in 2006.
Still, the sheer relentlessness of the speed of Haaland’s strikes boggles the mind. The Manchester City star has reached that total in just 105 appearances.
The fact that Haaland is under contract at City until 2034 makes the idea of him breaking the record feel achievable. If he sees that deal out, it looks likely he will overtake Shearer.
The City star bagged a brace against Everton on Saturday and pundit Jason McAteer duly compared him to two former Newcastle stars.
Erling Haaland compared to Alan Shearer and Michael Owen
The Shearer comparison is obvious. An elite goalscorer with a big, physical presence, it’s easy to see why Haaland would be mentioned alongside the Newcastle United legend.
Speaking to Stadium Astro, however, pundit McAteer also referenced ex-Toon forward Michael Owen when speaking about Haaland.
Owen isn’t a popular figure at Newcastle but is undoubtedly one of the greatest forwards to have played in the Premier League, having scored 150 goals in 326 games.
McAteer, who played alongside Owen for Liverpool, said: “When he goes through 1v1, I just think ‘goal’.
“For me, that was Michael Owen. Obviously, Michael, his pace used to get him clear of defenders and he’d go 1v1 with the ‘keeper. But I’d always fancy Michael. He’s got a bit of that about him as well.
“But then, he’s got the aggressiveness, he’s got the different attributes to score different types of goals like Shearer.”
Why Erling Haaland may never break Alan Shearer’s Premier League record
The only way Shearer can relax about Haaland beating his record is if the forward decides to leave the Premier League relatively soon.
That doesn’t look particularly likely any time soon, although the 25-year-old has been speculatively linked with the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Perhaps, at some point, he will want a new challenge.
Simon Jordan thinks Haaland won’t break Shearer’s Premier League record because he will leave English football before doing so.
The talkSPORT host said last month: “Unless he’s going to stay here for another five seasons, which is what it would take for him to get that level of goals I suspect, he won’t”.
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