By Daniel Feliciano

19th Oct, 2022 | 12:02pm

Paul Merson: Manchester City ace Erling Haaland wouldn't score 60 in League Two

Paul Merson says Erling Haaland wouldn’t score 60 goals in League Two because the quality of his teammates wouldn’t be as good as it is at Manchester City.

Haaland has lit up the Premier League with 15 goals in his first ten games in the top flight, with his power and movement constantly praised by members of the media and public.

But speaking to Sky Sports [19 October], Merson feels that the contributions of his teammates are being overlooked and suggested his incredible numbers are down to those around him.

“He needs the service,” he said.

“Everyone is going on about how great and super he is and how the movement is great and how powerful he is, but if he’s not getting the ball on a sixpence, it doesn’t matter how good your movement is, he’s not getting the ball.

“He would not score 60 goals in League Two, and I was a manager there with Walsall.”

Facts

Haaland is a phenomenon and that is absolutely undeniable, but there is certainly some truth to what Merson is saying and the striker would probably tell you that himself.

City have won the Premier League in four of the last five seasons, and the last two came without the use of an out-and-out number nine following the injuries and eventual release of Sergio Aguero.

With the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Riyad Mahrez, Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva, Ilkay Gundogan and Jack Grealish around him, Haaland is constantly supplied with high quality service which makes it improbable that he will score a lot of goals.

With that said his movement and abilities make it easy for those players to pick him out, so it’s probably more like six of one and half a dozen of the other.

There is no doubting how good Haaland is though, and he could be the difference between them winning the Champions League for the first time this season.

In other Man City news, Phil Foden shouldn’t start for England at the World Cup according to this journalist