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Manchester City striker Erling Haaland is enjoying another incredible season, having already scored 29 goals.
Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has admitted he was inspired by former Manchester United forwards Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Robin van Persie, as well as Sergio Aguero, growing up. Haaland has been a revelation since moving to the Etihad Stadium, scoring 153 goals in just 184 appearances, winning the Champions League, Premier League, Club World Cup and FA Cup in the process.
Haaland grew up supporting City and has a soft spot for Leeds due to his father Alf-Inge playing for both clubs. But in an interview with TNT Sports, the forward admitted the United pair influenced his development. "I watched Zlatan a lot when I was young," he explained. "He was Swedish and nice to watch.
"Of course, Aguero I watched a lot from watching lots of City. Then there was also Robin [van Persie] in the Premier League. He was also left-footed, with crazy finishes. I remember one season he had with Arsenal when he scored around 38 goals. That was an incredible season, but there were many strikers.
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"Even Jamie Vardy... the runs he did were amazing to see. I've been watching many strikers. It's a big part of my game to do runs in behind and to stretch the defenders to make more space for Phil Foden in between.
"This is a big part of my game. By always doing the runs, I don't need to get the ball. I normally don't get the ball, but against Galatasaray I got it, and it's a goal, which is good."
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Haaland went on to open up on his development as a striker and the drive that has seen him reach the summit of European football. "There were a lot of things I found out I was good at [growing up], first of all," he added.
"The way of scoring goals can sometimes be, don't get me wrong, it can be 'easy.' Just put the ball in behind, run and score. When you look at the goal I scored against Galatasaray, it's the perfect example of this. But a lot of it comes down to myself.
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"I've watched others, and watched goals from the likes of Thierry Henry. You take small things from some of the goals he scored, as well as a lot of different strikers.
"But you then kind of go your own way, which I think is a good thing. If you're young and if you want to become better... I've always wanted to become better... but I also just wanted to enjoy playing football when I was young."
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