The Norwegian scored a sensational 52 goals during the 2022/23 campaign which helped Pep Guardiola’s side become only the second team to win the Treble in English football history.
This incredible tally saw him smash a swathe of domestic and European records across his maiden term at the Etihad Stadium, while collecting a number of personal awards including Premier League Player and Young Player of the year.
And Harris says the fact he’s recording epic numbers in the modern game is why he’s special.
“I think it’s because he’s doing it [scoring huge amounts of goals] in the modern game,” he explained.
“I think people hark back about how wonderful the game was in the past, but I remember it and some of the pitches were worse than some I played on at Hackney Marshes!
“Heavy balls, heavy boots and no protection from the referees.
“That should make it easier that you get some protection, but still, Haaland has shown how much bruises and scars he’s had in each game he’s played.
“I think it’s a better quality of football you now see and particularly the way the game’s changed and evolved with managers like [Pep] Guardiola, [Jurgen] Klopp and [Mauricio] Pochettino.
“We talk about playing out from the back but it’s not about just keeping retention of the ball at the back, it’s about opening up defences and playing attacking football.
“I think it’s all geared for players like Haaland in a creative team like Manchester City to be able to score so many goals.”
The Greatest Goalscorers: The Art of Goalscoring from Dixie Dean to Erland Haaland was released on June 12 and is available to purchase on amazon.co.uk.
It represents Harris’ 90th book and it details a plethora of prolific hitmen who have served the game with distinction and class.
And the author says the aim of the book is to highlight phenomenal frontmen who totalled fantastic numbers and those who scored eye-catching strikes.
Harris added: “What we’re trying to achieve in the book is to [outline a] distinction between scorers of great goals and great goalscorers.
“I think great goalscorers rack up the stats to become the greatest of all time in terms of there numbers. But there are a lot of players who have scored monumental goals.
“Goal of the Season goals, goals of the century.
“For example Maradona scored the goal of the century [against England in 1986], but they haven’t got into those lists of the greatest ever goalscorers in sheer numbers.
“It’s interesting when I asked Alan Shearer, because he’s written the foreword of the book, ‘what is the art of goalscoring?’ because the book delves into that fascinatingly.
“I thought he must be the most qualified person to answer that question, so I asked ‘what is it?’.
“He said ‘broadly speaking, goalscorers are born not made.’ His view was you’ve got goalscorers who we talk about being at the right place at the right time.
“Is it possible to coach that? You can to some sort of degree. I think that’s what you’ve seen with Haaland.”
You can purchase The Greatest Goalscorers: The Art of Goalscoring from Dixie Dean to Erland Haaland here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Greatest-Goalscorers-Goalscoring-Erland-Haaland/dp/1915616042
