Former Chelsea striker Tony Cascarino has claimed that Erling Haaland would struggle to score more than 10 goals under Graham Potter, in the current state of affairs. The Blues have struggled to find the net since the return of the Premier League, scoring just three goals – two of which came in the same tie against newly-promoted Bournemouth.
The west Londoners are the lowest-scoring top-ten side in the Premier League so far this season. Haaland, on the other hand, has netted 21 this campaign with three of which coming after the World Cup, single-handedly matching Chelsea’s output.
But, despite the Manchester City striker’s dazzling form, the 22-year-old has been tipped to struggle in Potter’s side. Haaland was thinly linked with a move to Stamford Bridge in the summer but a move broke down and he eventually joined the Premier League champions.
In a column for the Times, Cascarino wrote: “Their style at the moment comes down to plenty of possession but it rarely offers much of a threat to the opposition. I don’t think you can play counterattack football unless you offer a threat Erling Haaland would be lucky to get ten goals a season if he was part of a Chelsea side playing as they did at City.”
Chelsea reportedly had reservations about signing Haaland last year — and it wasn’t financially motivated, but instead tactically. According to ESPN, Blues scouts ‘raised concerns’ about whether the striker’s stylistic profile would be suited to the Premier League.
The west Londoners’ entourage outlined that the transition from German football to English could prove a problem; there’s less space for forward players to attack and run into in the Premier League, compared with the Bundesliga. Chelsea suffered a similar problem first-hand, with Timo Werner who struggled to hit the ground running.
It’s safe to say that the Blues have since rued their decision to pursue Haaland with the striker still scoring for fun. Despite his form, Chelsea didn’t have a plan to stop the Norwegian when the two sides locked horns this month.
“He’s had a fantastic season and his goals there are amazing,” Potter said on Haaland. “They are a top team but we have to think about ourselves, how we can do better, how we can take steps forward in our game. That is the approach we’ll have.”
Source: football.london
