Is Erling Braut Haaland one for the future?
Erling Braut Haaland is perhaps the biggest surprise of this season. Before September, it would be fair to say that most people were unaware of the young Norwegian's existence. That has all changed now, however, as the teenage wonder kid has been scoring goals at an unimaginable rate.
Despite being, as aforementioned, just a teenager Erling Braut Haaland is performing in front of goal like a player five years his senior. Astonishingly, he has scored 26 goals this season in just 18 games for RB Salzburg, despite it still being November.
Admittedly, he isn't playing in one of the top five European leagues, nevertheless, he has mirrored, if not bettered, his goalscoring form in this season's UEFA Champions League where he has scored against the likes of Liverpool and Napoli.
With seven goals in the UEFA Champions League in just four games this season, the Norwegian has begun to attract the attention of several top European clubs, including Manchester United and it seems as though it won't be long until he moves away from Austria to the big leagues.
At nearly 6'4", Erling Braut Haaland has a real physical presence and yet he also possesses grace and technicality to play-style. There is no telling whether he will be able to maintain this form for a whole season, or in a more difficult league, nevertheless, he looks as a good as any forward right now.
As is so typical of the times, people are already envisaging the future goalscoring battles between Haaland and Mbappe. We would perhaps do well to not get too far ahead of ourselves, however, he does seem to possess all the attributes to be a real future star of the sport.
Additionally, Erling Braut Haaland has proved that his attacking abilities are not restricted to just goalscoring as the Norwegian has six assists so far to go along with his 26 goals, all in just 18 games.
With fellow countryman Martin Odegaard, Haaland could bring forth a golden age for Norway's international sides, although they have had great players in past like John Arne Riise and Ole Gunnar Solksjaer, neither were really world-class players.
Haaland and Odegaard, however, look as though they could both mingle amongst the world's best in the future, with both players being the standout performers for their respective sides, despite being so young.
Furthermore, with Norway's record goal tally being just 33 goals, it isn't hard to imagine Haaland one day breaking this record. Although Norway didn't gain automatic qualification to next year's European Championships, they are in the play-offs and will have a chance to seal their berth next March.
If Haaland could lead Norway to their first major international tournament in nearly 20 years, it would only increase his pedigree as a future star. He has already shown his goalscoring prowess in the U-20 World Cup, where he won the golden boot with nine goals but has yet to shine with the senior team.
Will this young Norwegian become one of the best in the world, who knows? What we know for sure, however, is that he is dominating European football at the moment, domestically and continentally.