Jamie O’Hara drops ‘outrageous’ claim amid Erling Haaland’s comparison to Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi
Erling Haaland has quickly become one of the most dangerous poachers in the world since joining Pep Guardiola’s Man City.
Haaland continues to rewrite the history books, notching his 12th and 13th goals of the Premier League season against Bournemouth on Sunday, 2 November, with club gem Nico O’Reilly rounding off the win.
Guardiola has nothing but praise for the Norwegian star, suggesting that he has a similar impact to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, and with the lack of goals around him, the Catalan has a point.
Phil Foden has massively improved for Man City this season, but even he has just one goal in the Premier League, alongside Matheus Nunes, O’Reilly, Rayan Cherki, and Tijjani Reijnders.
Given the massive gap in goals at the Etihad Stadium, Jamie O’Hara has addressed the recent comparisons to footballing royalty.
Erling Haaland can replicate huge numbers at Man City
“When we look at the numbers those two put up, it is outrageous. Some of the goalscoring records throughout seasons… One year, Messi got 90-odd goals. Ronaldo was getting 75 goals,” he said.
“When you talk about strikers getting 20 Premier League goals, you say he’s had a great season. Haaland is not a million miles off it; you’ve got to look at his age and the records he’s close to now.
“He’s not a million miles away from it. Can he sustain it until he’s 35 years old? It’s not easy. It’s unbelievable what those two have done. The two have set a benchmark that I don’t think we’ll see again.
“If I’m thinking about who the next Messi and Ronaldo are, I’d say Lamine Yamal and Erling Haaland are the two fighting it out over the next 10 years.”
Omar Marmoush needs to get back up to speed for Pep Guardiola
The lack of goals surrounding Haaland at Man City should be a concern for the manager, given that the striker has been known to have lengthy spells on the sidelines due to injury.
Omar Marmoush is only just returning from injury himself, but even with eight goals and an assist during his first six months at the club, he is nowhere near the calibre to fill his teammate’s shoes through the middle.
The rest of Guardiola’s players need to rediscover their eye for goal as well. Foden, Jeremy Doku, Savinho, and Bernardo Silva are all capable of finding the back of the net.
At some point this season, depending so heavily on Haaland for his goals will come back to bite the team.