Daniel Sturridge has claimed that a certain Manchester City player has treated the Premier League like “schoolboy” football.
The Premier League is widely regarded as a division where even some of the best of the best could have a hard time to adapt.
Over the years, several top players have joined English clubs and looked far from the superstars they looked like in other leagues.
Sturridge says City star has dominated the Premier League with ease
Erling Haaland is the anthesis of such a player, who Daniel Sturridge praised on Sky Sports after Manchester City beat Tottenham.
“The thing with [Erling] Haaland is we’re measuring the man against himself. We’re talking about a guy who, I don’t know, 30 plus goals last season, this season he’s on 27 and I think the expectation of him is to be the best every single game, to score every single chance.”
Daniel Sturridge lauded the goalscoring numbers Erling Haaland has registered over the course of his two seasons in England as a Manchester City player.
“But at such a young age, to do this, the numbers, I think it’s 63 in 65, that’s schoolboy, that’s stuff that you do when you’re 12. It’s like a goal every game, that’s not the stuff you do in the Premier League in your second season.”
Sturridge emphasised that the £51 million man’s exploits deserve to be heralded.
“We have to give the guy the utmost respect and credit for what he’s done in this league. We can talk about penalties all day long but all the best strikers in the history of our game, outside of maybe Andy Cole has taken penalties too.”
“We’re talking about who’s a top, top-class centre-forward, world-class, he will improve as well and when he improves…”
As per Opta Joe, the Norwegian international has scored more goals (63) in his first 65 appearances than any other player in Premier League history.
Andy Cole scored 55 goals in 65 league appearances and yet the 23-year-old has scored eight more goals than him during the same period.
Hard to disagree with Daniel Sturridge about Erling Haaland
As a former striker himself, perhaps Daniel Sturridge understands how incredible Erling Haaland has been in the Premier League.
Sturridge was a top player during his heyday and even in his best season during the 2013/2014 campaign with Liverpool, he scored 22 goals in the league.
In what has been deemed by many as an underwhelming campaign for Haaland, he has scored 27 in the league with one game to spare.
As Daniel Sturridge aptly claimed, Erling Haaland is operating at a level that makes one feel like he is playing schoolboy football.
Considering how young the former Borussia Dortmund striker is and how the league is continuing to improve, Sturridge was justifiably emphasising how extraordinary his time has been in England.