It feels like a momentous day in English football and a potential game-changer.
Certainly, it’s the Premier League story everyone is talking about right now.
Because by signing one of the two hottest young talents in world football (Kylian Mbappe is the other), reigning champions Manchester City have not just made a statement but also sparked a feeling inside this SBOTOP writer that only landmark moments produce.
As a Manchester United fan, I have been lucky enough to remember the spine-tingling magic I felt on the days my club signed Eric Cantona and Wayne Rooney. They were days I will always recall as the buzz it created made you know something special was on the horizon.
I would image Manchester City supporters feel exactly the same right now.
For the recruitment of Erling Braut Haaland – the reported fee of £51.2 million is a snip in today’s market – brings with it as much a guarantee of success as a transfer can provide.
For Haaland is no normal 21 year-old.
This is the player who has already netted 85 goals in 88 appearances for Borussia Dortmund after joining from Red Bull Salzburg in January 2020.
Indeed, he has scored 92 league goals in 121 appearances for Molde, Red Bull Salzburg and Dortmund and last year became the youngest player to reach 20 Champions League goals.
In the words of respected football writer Henry Winter, ‘at the risk of stating the bleedin’ obvious, Erling Haaland is a fabulous signing. Just what #mcfc need: a ruthless finisher to turn all that creativity from KDB, Bernardo, Mahrez, Foden, Sterling etc into even more goals. Ambitious, focused, only 21 and with huge re-sale value.’
And there you have it.
A player who will no doubt create Premier League highlights galore and has the ability to turn an already very good side into a potentially great one.
For example, if City had been more clinical in their Champions League semi-final with Real Madrid, they would almost certainly have reached the final in Paris.
This is also the player who will finally see the club replace arguably their best ever player.
Sergio Aguero changed the landscape when he arrived at Eastlands in 2011 and was the leading player in the English top flight for the best part of a decade until his departure last summer.
The fact this transfer already turns attention to the Premier League betting odds for next term, at a time when the current campaign is still so delicately poised, says everything you need to know about this deal.
I can remember being on holiday when the news of his Dortmund debut came through and made me sit up and take notice.
Sure, the young Norwegian had impressed for Salzburg in Europe but this was next level.
That moment was on January 18 as Dortmund kicked off their 2020 away at Augsburg. It wasn’t exactly going to plan for the visitors, who found themselves 3-1 down after 55 minutes.
Three minutes and three touches later, he buried his first shot for the club. Next shot, same result, and Borussia were 4-3 up only 14 minutes after his introduction.
No surprises what happened with his third attempt on goal. Three out of three after just 23 minutes and 10 touches on a Bundesliga pitch, and the ball was going home with him.
A striking superstar who, at 6ft 4in, has netted three hat-tricks and an incredible 19 doubles in the Bundesliga alone, while showcasing to the world his immense power, speed and in-game intelligence. As if that were not enough, he is selfless too, laying on 23 assists during a Dortmund career, in which he won last year’s German Cup.
The doubters may doubt, the critics may, rightly, point to the fact the Premier League is a very different platform than the Bundesliga.
No matter.
A talent like this comes along only a few times in a generation – Manchester City really have secured a phenomenal talent.
●●●
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS
Stay updated with everything sports and betting.
Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
