Above Luis Suarez! Is Erling Haaland a top-five all-time Premier League striker? Ex-Man City star Micah Richards assesses that list & airs Alan Shearer goal record hope

Norwegian frontman Haaland moved to the Etihad Stadium in 2022 when completing a £51 million ($68m) transfer from Borussia Dortmund. That fee was immediately made to look like quite the bargain, with 52 goals being recorded across a Treble-winning debut campaign. Those exploits put City’s No.9 in the mix for Ballon d’Or recognition - with only Argentine icon Lionel Messi pipping him to that post.

End product has remained in plentiful supply for the enigmatic 26-year-old, with the target being found on 176 occasions for City through 211 appearances in all competitions. Of that tally, 121 efforts have been recorded in Premier League action. That haul has him fast closing in on the top-20 of all-time leading marksmen in English football’s highest tier.

Shearer, Kane and Rooney fill the top three spots on that list, with Aguero and Henry inside the top 10. Suarez only hit the net on 69 occasions across his three-and-a-half years at Liverpool, but made a stunning impact on Merseyside.

Does Haaland sit above the mercurial Uruguayan, with a position in the top five being taken up? When that question was put to Richards, the former City defender - who has joined forces with Specsavers again to form part of their latest ‘Best Worst Team’ project - told GOAL: “Oh, well, he's different though. It's a good question, you're right.

“It depends what you want from the game because you have stats, you have numbers. You could put him in the category with Alan Shearer in terms of goal scorers - and Alan Shearer had more than that, he could hold up, he could score long rangers. But if you look at Haaland's game, they don't really want him to get involved in the play.

“He started doing a bit last season, which he improved massively. But when you've got people like [Rayan] Cherki and [Phil] Foden, [Iliman] Ndiaye and [Jeremy] Doku, Enzo [Fernandez], [Elliot] Anderson, who can feed you, his role is essentially to time his run, to be in the right place when the ball comes in the box.

“So if you go to the list, in terms of goal scorers, he's one of the best goal scorers I've ever seen - not just in the Premier League, in football. But if you look at all-round game, someone like Suarez, where he would beat four guys and put it in the top corner, is a different sort of player.

“If you go to stats, yes, Haaland would already be in the top five, without a doubt, even now. But if you look at all-round game, Suarez had that, and it's not controversial to say that he's better all-round than Haaland because he drops off, he can take people on, he can score a variety of different goals. But in terms of out-and-out goal scoring, Haaland's already in the top five.”

Richards went on to say when asked if Haaland would have been as instrumental for Liverpool as Suarez was had he formed part of the Reds’ ranks between 2011 and 2014: “Maybe not. That's what I mean, because they're different players, and Aguero as well.

“A lot of people talk about Aguero. He could hold the ball up well. Aguero's movement was unbelievable. His striking of the ball was just terrific, the way he could bend it. His shooting technique was, I won't say better than Haaland's, but it might have had more variety.

“Haaland is just a killer. He just gets on the end of absolutely everything. And Haaland's timing, his movement in the box, is one of the best I've ever seen in football. It only takes him one or two seconds to accelerate and get himself an opportunity. Some people, it might take them a bit longer, they might go front to back, they might wait. He just goes, and when he goes, you can't catch him. That's how good he is.”

Haaland already has three Premier League Golden Boots to his name - the same number as Shearer and Kane. Only Henry and Mohamed Salah have more, although they could be joined in the four-time winners’ category this season.

City have their superstar striker tied to a contract through to 2034, but it remains to be seen how long he will stick around - with transfer talk seemingly never far away and potential Financial Fair Play (FFP) sanctions hanging over the Etihad.

If he does spend another four or five years in Manchester, then Shearer’s standing as the king of Premier League goalscorers may come under threat. Richards joked when asked if Haaland could topple the former England captain: “I want him to! I'm sick to death of Alan talking about 260!

“He mentions it, I'm not exaggerating, at least once a week. I see him every week when I'm working with him, and he mentions it at least once. If he's late, 260. If he's got a bad opinion, he's scored 260 and can say what he wants. I just want Haaland to beat him so much. I honestly think he's an incredible player, but I'm sick of him talking about it to me!”

Premier League and Champions League pundit Richards could do with a Haaland or Shearer at his disposal after agreeing to put his coaching skills to the test once more. He has joined forces with Bollington United Sunday Blues - a team that lost every game last season and are in desperate need of inspiration.

‘Coach Meeks’ is looking to bring in former internationals, specialists and big personalities to fix the team’s biggest problems - from set pieces to composure under pressure. Plugging a leaky defence has been the biggest challenge, with Bolly having suffered an infamous 31-1 defeat in 2025-26.

Richards said of embracing another test of his credentials and contact list: “Last season with Warley, we had some bad results. This year with Bollington, it's difficult. We've got to get our head around the fact it's going to be difficult.

“Losing 31-1! The goalkeeper was the manager, Darryll Joynes. I said to him, ‘come on, we need better than this’. So we've sorted out some new players. Specsavers are involved with Big Meeks! We've got the dream team together now. It can only get better, right?

“I'm not promising the world, I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to say some wild predictions. But with the energy, with the tactical nous, with the game pressing, we'll do better, let's say. 31-1, I've never heard that before in my life! I can assure you this season, it won't be anything of the sort. Don't worry.”

Bollington have won five of their seven games this season, suffering only one defeat - with 29 goals being scored, against nine conceded. They are clearly heading in the right direction and sit fourth in the Stockport District Sunday Football League division four.

Richards will continue to keep an eye on them, while also watching how City and Haaland respond to suffering three successive losses in the Premier League. They will be back in action on November 21 at home to Fulham.

Follow Bollington United’s journey in Specsavers’ Best Worst Team: Season 5, an eight-part full-throttle YouTube series following every set-piece mishap, defensive blunder and unexpected moment of magic, as they embark on a season like no other, with a little help from the experts. Search for Specsavers’ Best Worst Team on YouTube to follow the series and see how Bolly gets on.