Kevin de Bruyne heaps praise on Manchester City superstar Erling Haaland

Kevin De Bruyne sharing the pitch with someone as deadly as Erling Haaland must be an unrealised fantasy. With 113 assists across the Premier League, De Bruyne stands as the greatest midfielder in league history.

The fact that this total might have been much higher if players like Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling had been a little more clinical during their time at the team is something that City supporters are well aware of. However, Haaland is now ahead of De Bruyne, and the Belgian is aware that the latter is a completely different animal. 

De Bruyne claims that Haaland is the most proficient forward he ever played with. He said, “It’s a hard question. In the box, I’d say yes. All around, maybe Kun (Sergio Aguero) but it depends on what you talk about. Erling is the most prolific striker I’ve played with.

This is quite high praise for Haaland coming from one of the true greats of the game, De Bruyne, who is perhaps the greatest creator in Premier League history. The former Chelsea midfielder said,  “I’ve played with really good strikers like Kun, Samuel Eto’o, Fernando Torres, there’s some good guys. ‘It’s hard to compare but the stats speak for themselves. He’s started the season on fire and let’s hope he maintains it.”

Can Erling Haaland have a better legacy than Sergio Aguero?

Haaland is an extremely vicious goalie, and he has been ever since he made his breakthrough at Molde. The 24-year-old always possessed a special ability to find the goal from within the penalty area.

Although one of the greatest Premier League attackers of all time, Sergio Aguero lacked Haaland's level of clinicalness. De Bruyne is correct, though, in stating that the Argentine had been a superior all-around player. Aguero was outstanding both inside and outside the box. Haaland has lots of opportunity to improve this aspect of his game. His technical skill and link-up play have already improved this season.