Will Erling Haaland Become The Most Productive Player In Europe?

Erling Haaland has had a spectacular debut season in English football, and the records keep falling.

The Manchester City striker is on track to smash both records for a Premier League player after scoring 28 goals in 27 league games and 42 goals overall this season.

What other scoring milestones is he approaching? And how close is he to breaking the record for Europe's most prolific forward in a season? BBC Sport examines.

The Premier League Record Belongs To Who?

When Andy Cole, a striker with Newcastle United at the time, scored 34 league goals in the 1993–94 season, he initially set the most goals in a Premier League single season. He tied it when Alan Shearer helped Blackburn Rovers win the championship the following year.

However, both totals were achieved when the top division consisted of 22 teams, and the season lasted 42 games. Since those numbers were decreased to 20 units and 38 games, people have yet to be able to match or even come close to those numbers.

The guy that holds the record for scoring 32 goals in a 38-game season is Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah, who has come the closest of anyone.

Given that Haaland has scored seven goals in his last 11 Premier League games, it is plausible to expect that he will score four more in the 11 games left to at least tie Salah's record and maybe six more to surpass Cole and Shearer's totals.

He is even closer to surpassing the Premier League player record for most goals scored in a single season across all competitions. Only two goals separate him from Salah and Robin van Persie's total of 42 in 37 games.

Football was there long before the Premier League was created, and Dixie Dean's 60 goals for Everton in the old First Division in 1927–28 will undoubtedly stand as the record for the most goals ever scored in a season of England's top flight.

Dean set a record by scoring 63 goals overall across all competitions. Clive Allen led Tottenham to a record-setting 49 goals in all matches during the 1986–87 season, a total that has not been surpassed in 36 years.

What About The Best Leagues In Europe?

Those are the benchmarks to beat in England, but Haaland still has a way to go before he can compete with the most productive European strikers in a single season.

As a result of an incredible 2011–12 season for the Argentina star, Lionel Messi currently owns the record for most goals in the league and across all competitions.

Messi scored 73 and 50 goals in La Liga while representing Barcelona during that successful season. With that, he surpassed Gerd Muller's record, which had stood for 39 years, with 67 goals across all competitions.

With 42 goals in all competitions, Haaland is well on his way to joining a select group of players to reach the milestone of 50 goals.

Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have scored 50 goals or more in a season several times. Ronaldo's most productive season was 2014–15, scoring 61 goals in all competitions.

Some noteworthy modern-era half-centurions include Robert Lewandowski, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and Luis Suarez.

In 2015–16, Suarez scored 59 goals for Barcelona, whereas Ibrahimovic scored 50 for Paris St. Germain that same year. The 55 goals Lewandowski scored for Bayern Munich in 2019–20 remain his career high.

How Many Will Haaland Receive, Then?

With 11 games remaining, Haaland might finish with an incredible 40 league goals according to his 1.08 goals per game average in the Premier League.

Only seven times in the 133-year history of the English top division has accomplished that feat; Jimmy Greaves was the latest, scoring 41 goals for Chelsea in 1960–1961.

What about Messi, who has scored 73 goals in all competitions? Can he defeat that? Haaland may have as many as 18 games left to play this season between the Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League.

In all categories, the Norwegian averages 1.14 goals per game; if he maintains this pace, he may add another 20 goals to his record this season, bringing his total to 60.

Messi's mark will likely stand as the record, barring an unbelievable run of form for the remainder of the season, which you can never rule out. Nevertheless, with one year more experienced in the Premier League, who knows what heights Haaland could reach next season?