Porteous lauds teenage sensation Haaland but is confident of getting the better of him
Hibernian defender Ryan Porteous insists he is ready for a reunion with Erling Braut Haaland following a nightmare first encounter against norway’ s new wu nd er kind while in the colours of Scotland.
Haaland, 18, is on the cusp of completing a transfer to Salzburg, with the Austrian champions utilising the riches of Red Bull’s sporting arm – their moneyed owners – to spend around £10 million on the precocious attacker.
It is an impending deal that will make the Molde marksman, the son of former Manchester City and Leeds player Alf-inge, the most expensive ever export from the Eliteserien. He usurps John Carew’s £7.5 million switch from Rosenborg to Valencia in 2000.
Unfortunately for Hibs, the terms of the impending switch is understood to include a loan back to Molde – for whom he has scored nine goals in 15 games this term – for the remainder of 2018. As a consequence, he is still expected to lead the line at the Aker Stadium tomorrow night for the second leg of the Europa League third qualifying -round tie.
For all the hype, Haaland remains something of an unknown quantity to British audiences. He is uncapped at senior level and missed the 0-0 draw at Easter Road last week after travelling to Austria for transfer talks.
Porteous, however, knows all about his attributes. The precocious Hibs defender crossed swords with Haaland when he captained Scotland’s Under-19 side against their Norway counterparts in March, blissfully unaware that the likes of Manchester united and juventus were tracking him.
The 6ft 3in youngster subsequently notched a hat-trick in a breathless 5-4 win for Norway as Donald Park’s Scots crashed out of the European Championships elite round. Revenge will be sweet, Porteous hopes.
“Haaland is obviously a really good player but, in fairness, that was a crazy game,” recalled Porteous.
“He’s a big, strong, physical guy who is quick and powerful. He’s decent in the air and really has got all the attributes that a striker needs.
“I didn’t know much about him before the game – it was only after I saw the links with Manchester United and teams like that. It was a good experience playing against players of that quality.
“We were in a group with Holland and Germany and, although the Germans and Dutch were good, Haaland was probably the best striker in that group.
“He gets in loads of good positions. Sometimes he squanders them but he gets there in the first place so we have to try and snuff that out.
“It’s a task we will relish and look forward to – and hopefully we can get the win.”