Erling Haaland has become the first Norwegian footballer to be named the Premier League’s Player of the Season.
Haaland clinched the prestigious on Saturday, after a record-breaking debut campaign in which he has delivered goals by the sackful as Manchester City claimed their third straight league title.
The 22-year-old player scored 36 goals in 35 games this season, breaking the previous record of 34 in a single Premier League campaign shared by Andy Cole and Alan Shearer that had stood for nearly three decades.
He was voted Player of the Season by the public, the captains of the 20 Premier League clubs, and a panel of soccer experts.
City players have now won the award for four seasons running, with Kevin De Bruyne taking the honour in 2019-20 and 2021-22 and Ruben Dias in 2020-21.
Haaland saw off competition from De Bruyne, Arsenal duo Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard, Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford, Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane and Newcastle United defender Kieran Trippier.
While Halland is the first Norwegian player to clinch the award since the 1994/1995 season, England maintained the lead with six players, followed by Belgium with 3.