10 April 2023 , 23:00
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Alan Shearer has backed Erling Haaland to score 60 GOALS this season after admitting he underestimated the Norwegian star.
Haaland has been a revelation since signing for Man City from Borussia Dortmund in the summer, and on Saturday struck twice in his side's 4-1 win over Southampton. That took his league tally for the season to 30, and his total in all competitions to 44.
Match of the Day pundit Shearer, who leads the all-time Premier League goalscoring charts with 260, is resigned to the notion that the star will easily break the current single season record of 34, jointly shared by the former England captain and Andy Cole. But having previously tipped Haaland to 'only' hit 40 in the 2022/23 campaign, he's now revised his prediction.
"At a minimum, City have another 12 fixtures this season and potentially up to four more on top," said Shearer, writing in his column.
"If he can stay fit, Haaland will obliterate the Premier League record I share with Andy Cole of 34 goals in a single season and at his current rate of averages in all competitions, with 44 in 38 appearances, he will storm past 50."
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And the former Newcastle man has even tipped Haaland to match a record that dates back to 1927/28: "Even that may be a disservice to him (scoring 50)," he added. "Who knows, we could even be talking 60 and Dixie Dean territory. Scary."
Haaland scored twice on Saturday as City won at Southampton (AFP via Getty Images)With their Premier League title bid boosted by Arsenal's draw at Liverpool on Sunday, City play the first leg of their Champions League quarter final against Bayern Munich on Tuesday night, before hosting Leicester on Saturday. And ahead of a huge week manager Pep Guardiola, usually reserved when it comes to hyping his own players, has likened his key man to two all-time greats.
“We have lived with (Lionel) Messi and Cristiano (Ronaldo) for two incredible decades - and now Haaland is on that level," he said, following the Southampton win. “You see how many games Erling has played during his professional career and you compare the goals he has scored in that time to Messi and Cristiano, it’s quite similar."
Last month, Haaland provided pundits and fans with ample reason to be compared to Messi, scoring five times against RB Leipzig. It tied the record for the most goals scored in a single Champions League match, matching the Argentine and Luiz Adriano.
Haaland previously scored 86 times for Dortmund during a three year spell in Germany, and has also struck 21 times for Norway at international level. But few envisaged the immediate impact he would have in England, having already surpassed Tommy Johnson's previous City best of 39 goals across all competitions in a single season.