Norway coach Lars Lagerback is of the opinion that Erling Haaland has the potential to be as good as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the future.
Haaland took the footballing world by storm last season, following his exploits for both RB Salzburg and Borussia Dortmund. The young striker, who joined BVB from the Austrian outfit in the January transfer window, netted his first goal for Norway in their 2-1 defeat to Austria on Friday.
Is Erling Haaland the next big thing in football?
Erling Haaland scored 16 goals in 18 appearances in all competitions for Dortmund, with two of them coming in the Champions League. The 20-year-old netted eight goals in six Champions League group stage games for RB Salzburg, thereby taking his tally in the continental competition to 10, finishing second in the Golden Boot race behind Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski.
The striker has carried his goalscoring form in the UEFA Nations League too as he scored his first goal for Norway in a 2-1 loss against Austria.
Although it was Norway’s first loss in 18 months, national team coach, Lars Lagerback was full of praise for Erling Haaland, who he feels can reach Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo‘s levels. He was quoted as saying,
“I’ve maybe been around too long but I have never seen a guy since maybe (Lionel) Messi or (Cristiano) Ronaldo that developed at such a young age. That’s very unique and he has all the possibilities to become a really world-class player – if you look at the offensive third of the pitch and in the box then he’s already absolutely top class.
“He perhaps has a little bit more to do in the link play but being so young, he’s already at a really high level. With the qualities he already has and his focused personality – if he can stay free from injury then he can be a really top-class player.”
It remains to be seen if Erling Haaland can actually reach Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo’s levels but it’s safe to say that the Norwegian youngster is definitely one to look out for the future.
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