Vincent Kompany believes Erling Haaland has the potential to improve further and cement his place in the list of all-time greats after watching the Man City striker lead an FA Cup demolition of Burnley.
The Norwegian scored a hat-trick to take his tally to 42 for the season as Pep Guardiola's side beat Championship table-toppers Burnley 6-0 to secure a Wembley semi-final in the FA Cup. Haaland has netted eight times in the last two games and City legend Kompany has no doubt that he is already on the way to being spoken about as one of the best ever.
"I have played against the greats of the time, Messi, Ronaldinho, Zidane, Cristiano Ronaldo . . . in the end they are part of a very special elite because I think even the very best find it very difficult to stop those guys no matter what you say," said Kompany, who spent 11 years as a player at City.
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"Someone like Erling will keep finding a way. The biggest thing for me is that it looks like his game can still improve and that is maybe the difference with the other superstars, he is a superstar who is still willing to improve and that is exciting to see.
"I think the goalscoring record in general puts you in a certain bracket, I don’t need to say any more than you showing his record of goals. That is the hardest part of the game.
"But I see the mindset to improve. His game has improved from when he arrived six months ago and if he continues to do that he is going to have to (be one of the all-time greats), this is not something you experience a lot.
"He is an exciting player because what everybody sees is his goals and he is already very, very good at that, his movement in the box, he has the athleticism and pace to be on the end of balls. He has a good feeling of where the ball is going to land in the box and he reacts like a poacher.
"But then he is also in the right place for his development, he is still very young and I can see him improve a lot still. He is with the right coach with the right environment and I think he has the right mindset. He will get better, no doubt."
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