Erling Haaland: Man City striker eyes Dixie Dean's 95-year-old record - can he 'walk on water'?

Erling Haaland has scored 25 goals successful 19 Premier League games for Manchester City

'Phenomenon'. 'One-off'. 'Freak of nature'.

Any questions astir however the Norway striker would acceptable successful Manchester City's strategy this play were soon answered erstwhile helium netted 14 goals successful his archetypal 8 Premier League games, including back-to-back hat-tricks against Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest.

With 25 goals successful his archetypal 19 league games, it seems a substance of when, not if, Haaland volition interruption Andy Cole and Alan Shearer's Premier League grounds of 34 goals successful 1 season.

But what astir pre-Premier League records?

William Ralph Dean led Everton to the league rubric successful 1927-28. Known arsenic Dixie, Dean scored a hardly believable 60 league goals, adjacent though helium missed 3 of the 42 matches that season.

Many years aft his celebrated season, Dean spoke astir his record. "People inquire maine if that 60-goal grounds volition ever beryllium beaten," helium said. "I deliberation it will. But there's lone 1 antheral who'll bash it. That's that fella who walks connected the water. I deliberation he's astir the lone one."

So tin Haaland locomotion connected water?

'Like Beethoven, Shakespeare and Rembrandt'

Blackburn Rovers' Ted Harper scored a grounds 43 goals during the 1925-26 top-flight campaign, but his awesome people stood for conscionable 2 years earlier Dean blew it retired of the water.

Former Liverpool manager Bill Shankly recalled Dean arsenic good arsenic anyone, having played against him for Preston North End successful the mid-1930s.

"Dixie was the top centre-forward determination volition ever be," helium said. "His grounds of goalscoring is the astir astonishing happening nether the sun. He belongs successful the institution of the supremely large similar Beethoven, Shakespeare and Rembrandt."

So however bully was Dean? It is hard to comparison crossed eras, nevertheless it is easier to comparison Dean with his peers. Looking astatine the 3 years earlier and 3 years aft Dean's record-breaking season, the First Division's starring scorer averaged 40 goals. Dean smashed that by 50%. The closest anyone has travel to challenging Dean is Tom Waring's 49 for Aston Villa successful 1930-31, but adjacent helium lone reached 81% of Dean's total.

Since then, adjacent reaching 40 goals has been elusive, with Jimmy Greaves the past subordinate to conscionable that people much than 60 years ago.

While physically Dean and Haaland are precise antithetic - Dean stood 5ft 10in, portion Haaland is 6ft 5in - their scoring records person similarities.

Comparing Dean's 1927-28 play with the existent 1 for Haaland, some scored connected the opening day, and some scored their 12th extremity successful their eighth game. Haaland went connected to nett 2 much successful that lucifer for a hat-trick successful a 6-3 triumph against Manchester United, portion Dean scored each 5 successful a 5-2 triumph against the aforesaid opponents successful his ninth game.

Haaland has slowed slightly, astatine slightest compared with Dean, but his hat-trick against Wolves near him with 25 aft 19 games, somewhat down Dean's 30 aft the aforesaid fig of appearances.

One of the large unanswerable questions is however galore Dean mightiness person scored if he'd played each 42 games. One of the matches helium missed, due to the fact that of an England call-up, was a 7-0 romp against West Ham astatine Goodison Park. How galore mightiness helium person added to his tally that day?

Dean did interruption the erstwhile grounds successful March 1928, past went 3 games without a extremity earlier accelerating his output with a monolithic 17 goals successful his past 8 games to scope 60. A hat-trick against Arsenal successful his last lucifer pushed him past George Camsell's Football League grounds of 59 which helium had acceptable successful Division Two with Middlesbrough.

It is simply a grounds that adjacent Haaland looks similar falling abbreviated of.

When volition the Premier League grounds fall?

Cole leads the existent single-season Premier League-era scoring array with his 34 league goals successful 40 games for Newcastle successful 1994, earlier Shearer deed the aforesaid tally from 2 much games for Blackburn a play later.

Mohamed Salah holds the grounds for a 38-game season, and different Liverpool striker, Luis Suarez, came closest to managing a goal-per-game ratio.

Shearer broke the 30-goal obstruction 3 times, but it is notable however fewer players person managed it - Michael Owen, Robbie Fowler, Didier Drogba and Sergio Aguero are not connected the database contempt being Premier League legends.

During the record-setting seasons listed above, the mean goals per crippled successful the Premier League hovered astir the 2.7 mark.

At his existent pace, Haaland is apt to interruption the Premier League grounds successful his 27th game, which if helium plays each City's matches volition beryllium against West Ham connected March 18.

While Dean's 60 mightiness beryllium retired of reach, Haaland could beryllium the archetypal subordinate since Jimmy Greaves successful 1961 to interruption the 40-goal barrier. He has a maximum of 18 Premier League games left, leaving him connected people to deed 48 goals and decorativeness third, oregon perchance second, connected the all-time list.

There were 3.8 goals per crippled (GPG) successful 1927-28, truthful however would that person translated to this play wherever the GPG is presently astir 2.8? Dean's adjusted fig would person been 44, which is somewhat little than the tally Haaland is connected people to reach. But the magical 60 inactive seems apt to beryllium excessively much.

Another hat-trick against Spurs connected Sunday though, and we whitethorn commencement changing our minds.

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