Fernando Hierro claims in-form goal machine Erling Haaland is NOT the finished product yet

Erling Haaland is not the finished product in comparison to LaLiga superstars Karim Benzema and Robert Lewandowski, Real Madrid legend Fernando Hierro has claimed.

The Manchester City hitman has shown explosive form in front of goal since arriving at the Etihad this summer, netting 20 goals in 13 appearances across all competitions.

Although the 22-year-old has demonstrated fantastic ‘potential’, Hierro urged that Haaland has not yet reached the level of Benzema and Lewandowski, who go head-to-head in El Clasico on Sunday.

Fernando Hierro believes Manchester City star Erling Haaland is not the finished product yet 

The Real Madrid legend thinks Haaland still has a way to go to overtake LaLiga’s top strikers 

Despite seemingly mastering the art of scoring goals, Haaland’s overall skillset and ‘repertoire’ is currently inferior by comparison, according to the Spaniard.

Hierro has also backed Haaland to reach the heights of Lewandowski and Benzema in the future.

‘In my days, we suffered Ronaldo (Nazario) – the fantastic striker of the time. I think Haaland’s got great potential. He’s a young player and he’s scored about 150 goals,’ he explained.

‘He’s a strong player, a modern player. He doesn’t need to touch the ball a lot to score a goal and he plays well with other members of his team.

Star striker Karim Benzema is now the second highest goal scorer in Real Madrid’s history

‘But players like Robert Lewandowski and Karim Benzema don’t need to show us anything. They’ve already shown their entire repertoire.

‘When Real Madrid signed Karim, they wanted a player that would become a top scorer and now he’s the second highest scoring player in Madrid’s history. 

‘We also know Lewandowski is a spectacular player. He’s not a typical number nine because he associates more with his team, but still manages to score lots of goals like Benzema. He’s scored so many goals with the national team as well.

Robert Lewandowski has continued to show his goal-scoring talents since joining Barcelona

‘Personally, I would rather Lewandowski be on my team than play against him. Lewandowski and Karim are in a very good period in their careers and obviously Haaland is going to as well.’

Hierro made over 400 appearances for Real Madrid between 1989 and 2003, whilst also representing Spain both as a player and manager.

His former club face bitter rivals Barcelona at the Bernabeu on Sunday, with the two Spanish giants level on points at the summit of LaLiga.

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