Why Haaland is the most coveted player In world game

As race to sign Norwegian superstar hots up, those who know 20-year-old best explain what makes him so special

Erling Haaland’s father, Alfinge, is in no doubt. “He’s built for the Premier League,” he says. And, with agent Mino Raiola already talking to Real Madrid and Barcelona – and adamant that four of only 10 clubs who could afford him are English – the next step is evidently looming.

So what makes Haaland the most sought-after player in football? How do you stop him, and how might he fit in at Manchester City, Chelsea, Manchester United or Liverpool?

Grounded upbringing

Haaland did not take a conventional route but is all the better for it, technically and emotionally. He grew up in Bryne, a Norwegian town of just 12,000 inhabitants, among a footballing cohort of 39 young players, of which five would play at various age-group levels for the national team.

The story of this unlikely talent hotbed is even now the subject of a book. At its core is the tented indoor facility that the community raised the funds to build and which became a second home to Haaland for formal and – critically – informal practice. “They trained constantly outside the four main sessions,” says his first coach, Alf Ingve Berntsen.

“It was all day Saturday and Sunday. The kids developed more natural movements, like street football. We worked hard to develop all the aspects of the person outside of the pitch. The most important is how you behave. You are not a better person because you keep the ball better. Erling knows where he comes from.”

Laser left foot, lightning pace and late physical development

It is easy just to look at Haaland – 6ft 4in, with the build of a cruiserweight boxer and the speed of an international sprinter – and assume it is those natural gifts which have always set him apart. Wrong, says Claus Lundekvam, a family friend and former Norway international defender, who highlights the timing of that physical development.

Haaland was actually once small for his age and, having grown up playing futsal ahead of a growth spurt at the age of 14, was renowned for his technical prowess, guile and finishing ability. An extraordinary Champions League shot conversion rate of 44 per cent – more than double that of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo or Kylian Mbappe – tells you that his left foot remains deadly.

Having never relied upon his size and speed, it has simply now become a hugely valuable added asset. “His development physically in his last few years at Molde was quite astonishing, but he already had a very mature football brain for a young kid,” Lundekvam says.

Haaland also struck it lucky when it came to his parents. “He has the perfect combination of genetics,” Berntsen says. “His father was not the quickest on the first metres but one of the fastest Norwegians ever at top speed. His mother was always very good in athletics. She did pentathlon.

“Erling has that big pace but he can also run over and over again. He has the kind of endurance that football players need and you have to be born with this.”

‘Killer’ goal mentality

Alf-inge makes a subtle point when discussing his son. “It is different to score goals … and to love to score goals,” he says. “And he loves to score goals.” Jamie Carragher agrees and, in discussion with Sky Sports colleague Thierry Henry, it was this aspect that they both found striking.

“He looks mad, but in a good way. You just think he doesn’t care about anything else,” Carragher said.

Henry was reminded of Ruud van Nistelrooy. “Not so much in how they play but the desire,” he said. “They want to kill. They want to be in the box, looking at the defender: ‘You won’t be able to live with me.’

“It’s that look they give the midfielder: ‘Hey, are you going to give me the ball? I want to score now! I want to be the guy who is going to make the team win.’”

Haaland’s direct movement and sixth sense for finding space inside a crowded penalty area was another product of his upbringing, says Berntsen. “The defenders on his team were bigger and faster when he was young, so Erling developed a smartness in his movement. If I see a video of him when he was 11 or 12 he does exactly the same movements to now. He can play alone, play in a two, be a No10 or nine.”

For Henry, it is the desire to always run into goalscoring areas, rather than sometimes drift out wide like Mbappe, that is striking. “He doesn’t care about anything else but the goal – he just wants to run in behind. It is middle [to] middle or wide [to] middle. There is no middle [to] out wide. There is a bit of cockiness about him. He believes so much in himself.”

Relentless self-improvement

Haaland revealed last summer that he wore special glasses at night to filter out harmful blue light from electronic devices. “They help me to have a deeper and better sleep,” he said. “For me it’s all about little details and percentage points in order to improve every day.”

Berntsen says most young footballers develop in bursts which are rarely linear and can include periods of regression. In Haaland, he has so far only seen improvement but, among those around him, there is an acute awareness of his weaknesses.

“His lay-up play has improved and his main strength is running behind,” Lundekvam says. “His weakness is his aerial strength – he has got quite a lot to develop there. As a centre-half, you would want to make sure you have cover behind. He is lightning fast and very direct. He can go either way and finish with either foot. He is also not afraid to get smashed or bullied from centrehalves. He likes that sort of thing. His main asset is his mind.”

Haaland studies all of his goals but also the chances that he has missed and, having finished last season with 44 goals, believes that he could easily have passed 50.

“I don’t want that to sound arrogant – it’s actually a good thing because it shows me that there’s room for improvement,” he says.

It is a thought that will terrify defences but intensify demand for a player who, at the age of 20, already appears destined for greatness.