The £51m transfer was by no means the Premier League’s most expensive signing of the summer window, but it could yet prove to be the best value for money.
After just five games, Haaland racked up nine goals, eclipsing a record shared by Micky Quinn and Sergio Aguero, who both netted eight times in their first five Premier League games.
Focus has now switched from whether Haaland will adapt to English football seamlessly – a point he has answered emphatically – to whether the Norwegian striker can break the league’s single-season record for goals.
The overall record is 34 goals, but that was during a 42-game campaign, with both Andy Cole (1993-94) and Alan Shearer (1994-95) reaching that mark before the league switched to 20 teams.
As it stands, Mohamed Salah holds the 38-game record, having scored 32 times back in 2017-18, one more than Shearer (1995-96), Luiz Suarez (2013-14) and Cristiano Ronaldo (2007-08) managed in one season.
And given he started the campaign scoring at a rate of almost two goals per game, Haaland is in a strong position to not only trouble Salah’s record but obliterate it.
Not since Kevin De Bruyne have City signed a potentially generational talent at such a young age. The transfer fee alone was astonishing, less than Chelsea paid for Marc Cucurella. I like Cucerella, but…
Haaland has clearly been bought to be Manchester City’s difference maker in the Champions League, the obvious solution to a problem that irks City, whatever their supporters might say to the contrary.
Read Daniel Storey’s transfer window reviews for all 20 Premier League clubs here
Of course, injuries and rotation could play their part, but Pep Guardiola is unlikely to keep Haaland away from the pitch for too long unless he is forced to.
So what exactly is realistic for Haaland? 30? 40? More? It seems absurd to type out such numbers, but then again, we are talking about a player with a relentless thirst for goals.
Good luck to those chasing the Golden Boot as well, and of course, to the Premier League defences hoping he has an off day. They may be few and far between.
Goals 1 and 2
West Ham 0-2 Man City, 7 August 2022, London Stadium
Haaland opened his Premier League account with two goals at London Stadium, scoring his first from the penalty spot and the second a fine finish with his left foot following Kevin De Bruyne’s through ball.
Newcastle 3-3 Man City, 21 August 2022, St James’ Park
After drawing a blank in the 4-0 win over Bournemouth, City were trailing 3-1 at Newcastle when Haaland got them back in the game when scoring from a corner. Bernardo Silva made it 3-3.
Goals 4, 5 and 6
Man City 4-2 Crystal Palace, 27 August 2022, Etihad Stadium
Haaland’s first hat-trick for City, and it helped City overturn a 2-0 deficit. They were trailing 2-1 when Haaland then scored three in 19 minutes to seal a 4-2 win.
Goals 7, 8 and 9
Man City 6-0 Nottingham Forest, 31 August, Etihad Stadium
Back-to-back hat-tricks for Haaland, who broke the record after five Premier League games in the process. This time all three goals came in the first half of City’s 6-0 win.
Aston Villa 1-1 Man City, 3 September 2022, Villa Park
Another game another goal, with Haaland volleying in from close range to open the scoring at Villa Park, although City were pegged back and the match ended 1-1.
Erling Haaland’s Champions League goals
With a view to delivering City a first-ever Champions League crown, Haaland could well prove to be the piece that they have been missing in the last decade or so.
He has scored five goals in their group-stage campaign so far, twice apiece against Sevilla and Copenhagen and another against former side Dortmund.
Against Sevilla, the Norwegian made it 25 goals in 20 Champions League games, making him both the fastest and youngest player to reach this mark, and then against Dortmund he scored a sublime acrobatic goal (below).
Then came Copenhagen. How do you stop a Haaland hat-trick? Only one man can do that: Pep Guardiola, who decided to take him off at half-time in the Champions League after his latest brace. He was replaced by youngster Cole Palmer, though not before he had hit a double in 32 minutes, the first coming with just seven minutes on the clock.
Fortunately for Copenhagen, even Haaland needs a rest sometimes – otherwise they might well have gone the same way as Palace, Forest and United.
Goal 11
Wolves 0-3 Man City, 17 September 2022, Molineux
Haaland made it seven goals in 11 Premier League games when scoring City’s second in the win against Wolves. This led to another record, making him the first player to score in his first four Premier League away games.
Goals 12, 13 and 14
Man City 6-3 Man Utd, 2 October 2022, Etihad Stadium
Haaland secured another match-ball after scoring a third Premier League hat-trick in successive games at the Etihad in the Manchester derby. That feat means that after only eight appearances, Haaland has as many trebles in the competition as Frank Lampard, Jamie Vardy, Didier Drogba, Son Heung-min and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Goal 15
Man City 4-0 Southampton, 8 October 2022, Etihad Stadium
By no means his best performance and yet Haaland still managed to get on the scoresheet, netting City’s fourth goal of the game with a typically predatory close-range finish.
Goals 16 and 17
Man City 3-1 Brighton, 22 October 2022, Etihad Stadium
Haaland bounced Adam Webster aside as if he were a child to open the scoring before converting from the penalty spot after Bernardo Silva had been felled by Lewis Dunk.
Goal 18
Man City 2-1 Fulham, 5 November 2022, Etihad Stadium
It looked as though Fulham might have hung on for an unlikely draw after Haaland’s second-half header was ruled out, but then Kevin De Bruyne was tripped up in the penalty area deep in stoppage time. Haaland’s penalty was not particularly good, Bernd Leno getting a large piece of it, but it still went in to give City all three points.
Goals 19 and 20
Leeds 1-3 Man City, 28 December 2022, Elland Road
The World Cup break did not quite go as planned for Haaland, who battled a couple of minor issues and perhaps did not get the rest he had hoped for. But he showed no signs of fatigue when he returned to action, scoring twice to break another Premier League record by reaching 20 goals in just 14 games. The first was put on a plate for him by Jack Grealish, squaring to the Norwegian who was presented with an empty net, and the same provider found him for the second, although Illan Meslier will feel he should have got more of a hand on the 10-yard shot.
Goal 21
Man City 1-1 Everton, 31 December 2022, Etihad Stadium
A first-half opener against struggling Everton was supposed to send City on their way to consecutive victories after the World Cup break, but Demarai Gray had other ideas for the travelling Toffees, rescuing an unlikely point in the second half.
Goal 22
Man City 4-2 Tottenham, 19 January 2023, Etihad Stadium
After two league games without a goal, which counts as a mini-drought going by Haaland’s season, he was “back among the goals” with City’s second in the crucial comeback win over Tottenham.
Goals 23, 24 and 25
Man City 3-0 Wolves, 22 January 2023, Etihad Stadium
Yes, another hat-trick, and yet another record. Not only did Haaland surpass the Golden Boot tally from last season (Mohamed Salah and Son Heung-min both scored 23) with his three goals against Wolves, but he also reached four Premier League hat-tricks in just 19 games – the now second-fastest was ex-Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, who took 65 games.
4 – Erling Haaland has scored his fourth Premier League hat-trick in just his 19th appearance, breaking Ruud van Nistelrooy's record (fourth hat-trick in 65th app).
19 – Erling Haaland
65 – Ruud van Nistelrooy
81 – Luis Suárez
86 – Alan Shearer
89 – Robbie Fowler
Alan Shearer currently holds the all-time Premier League record of 260 goals.
Of course, Haaland is a long, long way off, but his relentless start has people wondering whether he could end up breaking that record as well – assuming he stays in the league and is not tempted by another challenge elsewhere, namely La Liga.
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Haaland's acrobatic finish takes the prize
#UCLGOTW | @Heineken pic.twitter.com/dut375twcQ
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