Erling Haaland is a phenomenal goal machine, but does he have what it takes to break Alan Shearer’s longstanding goalscoring record in the Premier League?
Ever since he arrived in the Premier League, Haaland has been relentless with his goalscoring, and has almost singlehandedly fired Man City to multiple trophies.
Newcastle United’s top ten biggest signings ever
Nick Woltemade – £69million
Alexander Isak – £63million
Sandro Tonali – £55million
Anthony Elanga – £55million
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Anthony Gordon – £45million
Jacob Ramsey – £43million
Bruno Guimaraes – £41.5million
Joelinton – £40million
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He’s only 25, too, so he’s got plenty of time to add to his impressive tally. This season alone Haaland is breaking records, some of them his own, and looks set to rack up an unbelievable total again this term.
Still, Newcastle did shut out Haaland last weekend as they defeated Man City, which put a minor and temporary halt on his progress towards the Premier League goalscoring record held by Alan Shearer.
Manchester City striker Erling Haaland looks on before facing Burnley
Photo by Matt McNulty/Getty Images
Can Erling Haaland catch Alan Shearer?
Shearer’s tally of 260 top flight goals has stood as the ultimate achievement for Premier League strikers ever since he retired in 2006. But, Haaland does look like he’s got what it takes to at least get close to that number.
In an interview with Sky Sports, the Man City striker was asked about comparisons between him and the Newcastle United legend, and he was not afraid to admit that breaking that goalscoring record might be beyond even him.
He said: “Alan Shearer, I mean it’s a difficult record to break. You need to be consistent for ten years, that’s what you need to do. That’s why it’s stood for so long, it’s a difficult record.”
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Haaland has often been compared to Shearer, not necessarily in the way he plays but due to his unreal proficiency in front of goal. But, will he ever manage to break Shearer’s record?
Alan Shearer celebrates scoring for Newcastle United against Sunderland.
Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images
A look at Haaland and Shearer’s goalscoring records
During his career, Shearer scored 260 goals in 441 Premier League appearances. That’s a goal every 1.69 games.
Not a bad ratio at all, and a massive 206 of them were for Newcastle. However, Haaland frankly wipes the floor with Shearer when it comes to goals-per-game ratios.
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Martin Keown on TNT Sports
“No Isak. I know he’s not really doing it for Liverpool, but he looks a huge loss for Newcastle.”
The Norwegian has 99 Premier League goals in 109 appearances; that’s a ratio of a goal every 1.10 games, which is simply crazy, really.
Let’s take this with a pinch of salt, but if Haaland were to stay in England, make the same number of appearances as Shearer, and keep up his current rate of goalscoring, he would end up with 404 top flight goals.
Obviously, that’s very unlikely. To maintain this form would be unthinkable, and yet he’s showing no signs of slowing down yet. He also has another ten years in him, if he wants to play the long game.
The only issue, really, for Haaland in terms of that record, is whether he decides to move on and try a different league at some point.
Alan Shearer will probably be hoping that’s the case.
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