Jamie Carragher has highlighted what Manchester City striker Erling Haaland needs to do to win the Ballon d’Or.
The striker has been the subject of criticism recently, with some pundits like Roy Keane claiming that his general play away from scoring goals is that of a League Two player.
Now though, one of Keane’s colleagues has shared his views on the City star, focusing on what the Norwegian needs to do to take his game to the next level.
Carragher shares what Haaland needs to do to win the Ballon d’Or
In his latest column for The Telegraph, Carragher had this to say about Haaland and his career progression.
He said: “What will become increasingly significant as his career progresses is this: what does Haaland think? Where does he want his game to develop?
“Does he actually care that his game is being judged solely on his goal return? Is his minimal contribution beyond goalscoring by design or necessity? If a manager demands more outside of the penalty area, does he have the capacity to do it?
“Haaland is still only 23 and gives the impression that he has a career plan mapped out. If his sole interest is breaking goalscoring records, he has no need to change anything.
“If he has serious ambitions to win the Ballon d’Or and play for Real Madrid, he may have a problem.
“He must add more to his game to make that leap and to seriously challenge his rival to the title of best player of his generation, Kylian Mbappe.”
Is Carragher right about Erling Haaland’s ambitions?
The 23-year-old, who came second in the previous Ballon d’Or rankings behind Lionel Messi, scored 52 goals in 53 appearances across his debut season at the Manchester club.
He also broke numerous records throughout the previous campaign and ended up winning the Treble with the club his Dad played for and has supported since he was born.
Even though pundits, such as Carragher, who never won a Premier League title, have felt the need to criticise his general play, Haaland is still the top scorer in the division with 19 goals to his name heading into this weekend’s fixtures.
Taking all of that into account, while we feel that every player at City, not just Haaland, has the capacity to improve their game in some way, the main thing for the Norway international to focus on is continuing to score goals and help his side win the trophies they’re after.