Manchester City's goal machine Erling Haaland is on the cusp of Premier League immortality, standing just one strike away from joining the competition's most exclusive scoring club.
The Century Beckons at St James' Park
The Norwegian powerhouse has reached 99 Premier League goals in just over three seasons and could hit the magical century mark when City face Newcastle United on Saturday evening. Haaland's phenomenal form this season, which has seen him plunder 14 goals already, suggests the historic moment could be imminent.
His most recent victim was Liverpool, continuing his remarkable record since arriving from Borussia Dortmund. While he has scored against Newcastle before, the Magpies have proven difficult to break down at their St James' Park fortress, despite struggling away from home.
Joining Football's Elite
Should Haaland find the net this weekend, he will become the 36th player to enter the Premier League's 100 club. This achievement would place him alongside former City greats including Sergio Agüero (184 goals) and Raheem Sterling (123 goals), who scored the majority of his tally in sky blue.
The 100th goal would see Haaland draw level with Southampton legend Matt Le Tissier, immediately putting several footballing icons within his sights. Cristiano Ronaldo (103 goals), Didier Drogba (104) and Paul Scholes (107) would be his next immediate targets in the scoring charts.
The Long Road to Shearer's Record
Despite his incredible scoring rate, Haaland remains some distance from Alan Shearer's all-time record of 260 Premier League goals. Many believe the City striker could eventually challenge the Newcastle legend's tally if he remains in England for the majority of his career.
When recently questioned about Shearer's mammoth total and whether he could surpass it, Haaland responded characteristically: "I don't really know any records, but this one I know. I can't think about records I can break - I try to help the team win football games."
Haaland's Premier League journey began spectacularly with a debut brace against West Ham, breaking the single-season scoring record in his first campaign. His subsequent tallies of 36, 27 and 22 goals demonstrate remarkable consistency, with his current rate of more than a goal per game suggesting he could exceed all previous totals this season.
The striker also offered a blunt assessment when asked if he could ever reach the heights of Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi, stating: "No, not at all, far off. No one can get close to them, so no."
Further up the scoring ladder, Mohamed Salah recently became the most prolific foreigner in Premier League history with 190 goals. The top three positions remain occupied by Englishmen - Shearer leads followed by Harry Kane (213) and Wayne Rooney (208).
While Haaland may need more than this season to challenge the Premier League's most iconic marksmen like Thierry Henry (175 goals) or Frank Lampard (177), his relentless scoring pace suggests it's not a question of if, but when, he joins football's absolute elite.
