FOUR Remarkable Stats About Erling Haaland That Explain Why The Likes Of City Are Desperate To Sign Him

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3 years ago

Categories: Galleries, Manchester City News, Transfer News

Tags: borussia dortmund, Chelsea, Erling Haaland, Manchester City, Manchester United

Manchester City are among a number of teams interested in signing Erling Haaland, according to reports. The Norwegian is believed to be in high demand with the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Barcelona also linked with the player.

Anyone who has watched the striker in action will know why there is so much hype surrounding the Haaland, but with claims that Dortmund could demand in excess of £100m for him next summer, would City be getting value for money?

We have taken a look at four different stats that demonstrate how Haaland has the potential to become one of the best strikers in European football over the next decade.

Press the next page as we explain why the likes of City and United are so keen on signing the forward.

Shots On Target

Since his arrival at Borussia Dortmund last January, 54% of the 20-year-old’s shots have been on target, demonstrating that the forward is extremely accurate with his shooting.

In contrast, Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski, who is widely regarded as the best number nine in the world, has averaged between 35% and 44% over the past five seasons.

Shots Per 90 Minutes

The general rule of thumb is the more you shoot, the more likely you are going to score, so the elite strikers in Europe do generally have more attempts on goal than other players.

Haaland has been averaging 3.5 shots per 90 minutes since moving to Germany, which measures up quite favourably with the likes of Liverpool’s Mo Salah, who is actually averaging around 3.29 shots per 90 this campaign.

Goals Per Shot Percentage

A high conversion rate is also very important for a striker, as it demonstrates how clinical they are in front of goal. The fewer shots you need to score, the higher the conversion figure you will have.

Haaland has quite remarkable stats on the metric. Following his move to Dortmund, he has a conversion ratio of 34.5%. Lewandowski has been averaging anything between 14% and 31% over the past four years, meaning he is not as good at putting away his chances as the Norwegian.

Expected Goals

This is another way to gauge how good a finisher a striker is. If they have more goals than their expected goals (xG) figure, it means they are scoring more difficult chances.

In Haaland’s case, he has consistently exceeded his xG in recent seasons. This campaign for Dortmund in the Bundesliga, he has scored ten goals with an xG of 8.1. This is actually one area where Lewandowski is outperforming the Norwegian quite significantly this season. The Polish forward has scored 17 goals in the Bundesliga already, with an xG of just 9.6.