Sheffield United captain John Egan believes Man City star Erling Haaland is already one of the greatest strikers in Premier League HISTORY as he prepares to face him for the first time
- John Egan says Erling Haaland is one of the best in the history of the league
- The Norwegian scored 52 goals in his debut season for Pep Guardiola’s side
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Sheffield United captain John Egan believes Erling Haaland is already one of the greatest strikers in Premier League history.
Egan faced the Manchester City goal-machine during last season’s FA Cup semi-final at Wembley, when a hat-trick from Riyad Mahrez gave Pep Guardiola’s men a 3-0 win.
City went on to achieve a glorious treble as 23-year-old Haaland hit 52 goals in an astonishing debut season in English football.
Republic of Ireland defender Egan marked some of the top flight’s leading forwards during the Blades’ previous stint in the Premier League between 2019 and 2021.
As he prepares to cross swords with Haaland again at Bramall Lane on Sunday afternoon, Egan said: ‘With his goal record from last season, he’s already in that bracket for me as a Premier League great.
Sheffield United captain John Egan believes that Erling Haaland is one of the best strikers in the history of the Premier League
Erling Haaland has already scored two goals in as many games in the league so far this season
‘I’ve played against the likes of Harry Kane and Sergio Aguero and they’re obviously up there.
‘Could Haaland go on to become the greatest striker in Premier League history?
‘That’s a long way into the future, but certainly his all-round game is unbelievable and that’s why he’s got the goals he has.’
After keeping Haaland quiet at Wembley in April, Egan is aiming for a repeat, adding: ‘We’ve been doing work on the training pitch, but your concentration as a defender has to be 100% when you face Haaland.
‘His supply line isn’t bad either, so as a team we have to come up with a gameplan and be as aggressive as we can.’
Paul Heckingbottom’s men have been written off as relegation certainties in many quarters after selling their two best players during the summer.
Highly-rated Senegal striker Iliman Ndiaye was signed by Marseille and Norway midfielder Sander Berge joined Burnley.
Yet Cork-born Egan, 30, believes the Blades can defy the odds by harnessing the collective spirit which carried them to automatic promotion last season.
The Blades will look to secure a major upset against the Premier League champions on Sunday afternoon
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Over a handful of new signings have been made with more expected before the window closes.
Egan declared: ‘Team spirit is very important. I think it’s one of the most under-estimated parts of football.
‘There has been a big turnover of players in the summer, but we know what we want to be and who we are.
‘It starts around the training ground every day and lot of lads here are setting good examples.
‘I could go through a good five, six or seven lads to look at and be inspired by, which is what we like to create here.’
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