Haaland will 'obliterate' Premier League goal record says Shearer

Stuart Telford

• 9 Apr 2023 11:27 BST
• 3 min read

Alan Shearer says Erling Haaland will obliterate his and Andy Cole's record of 34 goals in a single Premier League season, making a mockery of the €60 million Manchester City paid Borussia Dortmund for his services last summer.

Haaland added another two goals for City on Saturday, the second of them a fine overhead kick, as Pep Guardiola's side kept up the pressure on Premier League leaders Arsenal with a 4-1 win at Southampton.

It lifted the big Norwegian to 30 goals from 27 league outings this season, and 44 from 38 in all competitions. Haaland has scored every 67 minutes he has played this term, costing City €1.36 million a goal - relative buttons and a number that keeps getting smaller.

READ: Erling Haaland at Man City: Goals, assists, results & fixtures in 2022-23

Shearer hit 34 goals as unfancied Blackburn Rovers won the Premier League in 1995, matching Cole's tally for Newcastle the season before, but the record hasn't been bettered in nearly 30 years since.

'Haaland will obliterate Premier League record'

"At a minimum, City have another 12 fixtures this season and potentially up to four more on top," Shearer wrote in his column for The Athletic.

"If he can stay fit, Haaland will obliterate the Premier League record I share with Andy Cole of 34 goals in a single season, and at his current rate of averages in all competitions, with 44 in 38 appearances, he will storm past 50.

"Even that may be a disservice to him. Who knows, we could even be talking 60 and Dixie Dean territory. Scary."

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Dean scored 60 league goals for Everton back in 1928, but in those days teams often played with a 2-3-5 formation, making Haaland's exploits yet more incredible.

Whether he will stick around to overtake Shearer's all-time record of 260 Premier League goals remains to be seen, though.

The 22-year-old reportedly has a release clause of €240 million which activates in 2024 but precludes English clubs from entering the fray - taken by some to be an invitation for Real Madrid to make a world record bid at that point.