Andy Cole has said that one player at Manchester City is completely unique in modern football.
Having won five major titles in 2023, the Citizens cemented themselves as being the best team in world football.
With the Blues now only a few games away from potentially becoming the first side to win a fourth Premier League title in a row, one pundit and former top-flight star, who knows what it takes to win the league, has shared his thoughts on the modern game, highlighting one figure in Pep Guardiola’s squad he thinks is a complete one-off.
Cole says Man City star is different to anyone else
Speaking in a recent video shared on the CBS Sports Golazo TikTok channel, Cole had this to say when asked how the game has evolved now from when he was playing.
He said: “The game will always evolve. I think we all know football is a basic game, especially in my position. A goalscorer is ultimately there to score goals.
“People talk about [Erling] Haaland, in my generation, there were plenty of players like Haaland that wanted to play in the 18, six-yard box and score goals.
“But now, we’ve got so many of the younger generation play in the hole, or as they say, in the number 10 position.
“There’s not many centre-forwards, i.e. old-school centre-forwards, that’s why Haaland looks so different to what we have in the modern-day game now.”
Erling Haaland knows where he is the most useful on the pitch
This season has seen Haaland score 21 goals in 28 Premier League games, racking up an average shot distance of 11.6 yards.
This backs up Cole’s point about the 23-year-old operating around the 18-yard box and six-yard box rather than being a striker who drops back and regularly involves himself in the buildup, such as Ollie Watkins, who has had considerably more touches in the midfield third of the pitch than Haaland this season (337 vs 175).
In fact, with the Norwegian being criticised for his general play outside the penalty box in recent weeks, it’s easy to see why he stays as high up the pitch as possible, in addition to the fact that he is clearly a top goalscorer.