BBC pundit says £51m Man City player looks like he’s really grown up this season

Manchester City have had a bright start to their 2024/25 season.

After beating Manchester United in the Community Shield, Pep Guardiola’s side have put themselves at the top of the Premier League table by winning their two opening matches of the campaign.

Specifically, City beat Chelsea 2-0 at Stamford Bridge before landing a 4-1 win over newly promoted Ipswich Town at the Etihad Stadium.

Despite only having a few games under their belt in this latest season, one particular figure in the City squad has found himself being mentioned by a pundit, who has made an interesting claim about the player.

Martin Keown claims Erling Haaland has matured this season at Man City

Speaking in a recent video shared on the BBC Sport website, Martin Keown had this to say when asked who he thinks will win the Champions League this season.

He said: “It’s hard to look beyond Man City now that [Ilkay] Gundogan is back in place, [Kevin] De Bruyne’s start to the season, [Erling] Haaland looks as if he’s that little bit more mature.

“But I’m hoping Arsenal can beat them.”

Haaland has had a strong start to the season

Keown isn’t the only pundit and former Arsenal star to have his say on the striker recently, as Ian Wright claimed that Haaland could become the first player ever to score six goals in one Premier League game.

After finding the back of the net 27 times in 31 Premier League games last season, the Norwegian has bagged four goals across City’s opening two games of the new campaign.

In fact, the centre-forward, who City paid £51m to sign back in 2022, scored his tenth hat-trick for the club during the recent win over Ipswich.

Now that Keown has highlighted how much more mature he thinks the 24-year-old looks in terms of how he’s been playing recently, this could be a good sign in terms of how well he performs throughout the campaign.