Paul Merson has hinted that superstar striker Erling Haaland has been overhyped since his arrival in England, despite the Manchester City star already scoring 20 goals this season.
He is the overwhelming favourite to win the Golden Boot award, having score six more goals than closest challenger Harry Kane. Only Liverpool and Bournemouth have so far been able to prevent him from scoring in the top-flight so far this term.
But despite his astonishing start to life in the Premier League, Merson has not been convinced by the 21-year-old. Instead, the former Arsenal star believes that Haaland's abilities are restricted.
And he also claimed that the Norwegian would not be having the same success if he was playing in League Two. Merson insisted that his playing style means that the service he receives is crucial, or he would struggle to get on the scoresheet.
"Manchester City will want to win the Champions League and if they are playing Brighton or whoever at 3pm on the Saturday, and they have Real Madrid, Bayern Munich or PSG on the Tuesday in the semi-final, they will care about Europe," he told Sky Sports.
"They have won the Premier League four out of the last five seasons! With the World Cup making the season stopping and starting, Haaland will not be playing for six weeks! He needs the service.
HAVE YOUR SAY! Who will win the Premier League Golden Boot this season? Comment below.
"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."
Merson spent two years as Walsall boss, taking charge of them in the Championship and League One. He departed the Bescot Stadium in February 2006 with the Saddlers in the relegation zone.
City boss Guardiola has frequently sung the praises of Haaland, who is more than repaying the £51million transfer fee the reigning champions invested in him. And the Spaniard has also insisted that he still get even better.
"He is one of the best. I have many very, very good strikers and Erling is one of them. He understands quickly and he is a nice guy. He is able to do this for the team, but we need to work together and that has happened," the City boss said at the start of October.
"I speak a lot about him, but sometimes I should not have to because the numbers, they do this. At his age no one can compete with him. The numbers speak for themselves and inside, in the locker room, and on the pitch we see things that are not in the stats that make us feel happy to have him here.”
Haaland will be looking to add to his goals tally on Saturday when City host Brighton in their next Premier League outing.
