‘It scares me’ – Man City assistant Kolo Toure on star player’s quality | OneFootball

Manchester City assistant coach Kolo Toure has admitted that he is “scared” by star striker Erling Haaland.

The Norwegian international has already netted 34 times for club and country this season. “I would say he’s right among the top, like Thierry Henry and Alan Shearer,” Toure said of the forward.

It is high praise from the former Ivory Coast international, who shared the pitch as team-mates with Henry and opposition with Shearer during his own playing days.

The City coach continued: “What I really like with Erling is he’s a humble guy. He’s an incredible, incredible person.

“He still has a big room for improvement as well. And he is open to listen to advice.”

Toure himself won the Premier League twice as a player, with the two teams that are currently battling it out for the title – once with Arsenal and once with City. Haaland is also the owner of two Premier League winners medals, and hopes to add a third to his collection in May.

Toure explained: “He is so humble. For what he has achieved already, it scares me, I have to be honest.

“When you have a top player like that, normally the head can grow really big very quickly. But Erling is down to earth. This is incredible.

“I think in the future he will be even better, in my opinion.

“Because he’s such a top player, but a top human as well.

“I won’t tell you, for sure,” the former central defender answered when asked how he would stop the striker. “I won’t tell you, but I know, like I always say to him, I had that feeling every time I had to play against a top striker. It was always hard to sleep at night.

“And I say to Erling, every time we play a team, a lot of them are not sleeping at the moment. Because it’s always hard to play against a top striker.”

The Norwegian’s latest goal was a decisive winner away against Real Madrid in the Champions League. It helped City secure just their second ever victory in the Bernabeu.

Toure reflected: “I think it’s very important, for sure, and our players deserved the win. It gives you some trust and belief that you can go anywhere and win any game.”