Neville likens Haaland to James Bond villain Jaws in ‘unfair’ Man City advantage

Gary Neville has likened Man City striker Erling Haaland to James Bond villain Jaws because of his size and strength.

The Norway international has made an astonishing start to life in the Premier League with 10 goals in his first six matches, including back-to-back hat-tricks against Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest.

There were a few doubts over whether Haaland could carry on his incredible goalscoring record from his time at Borussia Dortmund and RB Salzburg, where he scored a combined 114 goals in 116 matches.

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But following his early-season heroics, Neville expects Haaland to go on and win Ballon d’Ors while playing in the Premier League.

Neville told Sky Sports: “There’s things happening this season that are not smooth but I anticipate Manchester City will win this league, and they could win it comfortably.

“Erling Haaland is… it just looks a bit unfair. I remember when I watched James Bond films when I was younger and there was the character Jaws, who was about 7ft 2in. He used to just pick people up and chuck them on the floor, and it’s a little bit like that when you watch Haaland against strong centre-backs. You think, ‘wow, he’s just unplayable – how do you even cope with him in the box?’.

“The one thing I would say is Haaland’s career at City will probably prolong his overall career, because he’s just standing there. The way Manchester City play, with that possession that they keep, you never really see him stretching teams, other than when they get one or two in front.

“I just have to say that I’m massively impressed with him. It’s the first time we’ve signed what I believe to be one of the top two or three players in the world for the future. Ordinarily, those players go to Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid or Barcelona. Cristiano Ronaldo, when he became the best player in the world here [at Manchester United] or maybe Thierry Henry at Arsenal, they didn’t sign as prospects to be the best player in the world, they just developed to being that when they were here.

“But this player – you fully anticipate he’s going to go on and win Ballon d’Ors and be the best player in the world. That’s exciting – that’s not happened for quite a while in the Premier League.”