Dutch icon Marco van Basten has moved to defend Manchester City star Erling Haaland, insisting he’s nowhere near as bad as the recent criticism would have you believe.
The legendary striker has been speaking to Ziggo Sport, where he elected to defend Haaland amid recent criticism from several pundits.
Haaland took the Premier League by storm last season in his first year at Manchester City, scoring 52 goals and registering nine assists in 53 games in all competitions for the treble winners.
This season has not been quite as successful as injuries have limited his time on the pitch somewhat, but he’s still managed 31 goals in 38 games in all competitions, including 20 in 26 Premier League games to make him the joint top goalscorer in the division.
That, though, has not stopped him from being criticised, with Roy Keane’s recent comments going viral before Rafa van der Vaart added to those by criticising his performance in the recent 3-3 draw with Real Madrid in the Champions League.
Van Basten really doesn’t understand the criticism being aimed at the Manchester City star, though, and instead appears to be a major fan of him.
“He is always present, he is always playable, and he can also do a lot with the ball,” he said.
“He is strong. You all play a bad match sometimes, but if there is one striker who is extremely dangerous, it is him.
“He is also a great. When you see how often he has scored and in all kinds of ways, because he can head well, shoot well, he can dribble, he is handy in small spaces and in large spaces. So, he is dangerous everywhere.”
