Gary Lineker admits it's too early to say whether Erling Haaland is the greatest goalscorer he's ever seen - but says if he carries on as he has been doing he'll certainly challenge the greats of the game.
Haaland has proven himself something of a superhuman this season after impressing with Salzburg and Dortmund before making the Premier League his playground at Manchester City.
The Norway international has bagged a staggering 20 goals in 11 appearances in all competitions for the Citizens - his latest offering a brace in his side's Champions League win over Copenhagen coming just days after he bagged a hat-trick against Man United.
Lineker was asked by one of his many followers on Twitter after Haaland was subbed off by Pep Guardiola in the European tie whether he believes the striker to be the best goalscorer he's ever seen.
The former England international issued a measured response. "Too early to say," tweeted the Match of the Day host. "If he carries on this way for another 10/15 years, avoids serious injuries, then he could challenge the greats."
Guardiola was recently asked for his opinion on how Haaland compares to one of his former players - arguably the greatest individual to ever grace the sport, Lionel Messi.
In an apparent bid to keep his striker grounded, the ex-Barcelona boss replied: "The difference is that maybe Erling needs all his teammates, while Messi had the ability to do it on his own."
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BT Sport pundits Owen Hargreaves and Peter Crouch suggested Guardiola's comments were a little harsh ahead of the Copenhagen clash, heaping praise on Haaland.
"Messi is one of a kind, we are never ever going to get another Messi," said Hargreaves. "But I think Haaland is unique in the fact that I don't think we've seen a kid score goals like this, this explosive at such a young age."
Crouch added: "He's answered every single question: Can he do the next level, can he do the next level, can he do it in the Champions League? His stats for Norway are ridiculous.
"Salzburg, Dortmund the same. It's easy to say he's got Kevin de Bruyne behind him, one of the best creative midfielders we've ever seen, but he's done it at every team he's been at."
