A goal every 15 touches: Why this Socceroos striker is earning Haaland comparisons

Call off the search. We’ve found him. Mohamed Toure is the talismanic striker Socceroos fans have been hoping would emerge for the better part of a decade.

Many before him have tried to assume the throne vacated by Tim Cahill – and Mark Viduka before him – but none have looked as ready for it as Toure, whose hot streak continued on Wednesday morning (AEST) when he scored his ninth goal in 10 games since joining English Championship outfit Norwich City, and his fourth in less than a week.

Given he’s only 22, long may he reign.

He is now averaging a goal for every 15 touches he has for the club, and earning straight-faced comparisons to none other than Erling Haaland – the Manchester City superstar who holds the record for the most goals in a Premier League season.

There is always a sense of caution about pumping up a young Australian player too soon. Toure is still young, but he is not inexperienced: he burst onto the domestic scene with Adelaide United at just 15, becoming the A-League’s third-youngest debutant, and immediately catching the eye with his pace, power and skill.

He is now into his fifth season of European football, and looks all the better for his decision to stick it out through the tougher times he experienced in France and Denmark, instead of retreating to the comforts of home as some other players might have done.

Surely the only reason for caution with Toure is whether his body will hold up between now and Australia’s World Cup opener on June 13 against Turkey. If fit, he starts; it’s as simple as that. And if he’s still in the sort of form he is right now, coach Tony Popovic’s attack will be something for their opponents to genuinely fear, especially if he reprises his partnership with childhood mate Nestory Irankunda.

Toure represents the breaking of new ground for the Socceroos: for the first time, they will head into a World Cup with a young, hungry and exciting No.9, ready to strut his stuff on the game’s biggest stage.

He’s also resilient: proven not only by his performance in Norwich’s 2-1 win over Derby County – for which he earned rave reviews from his manager, Phillippe Clement – but his lead in.

Felled by a groin injury that kept him out of the Socceroos’ recent farewell friendlies in Australia, and also disrupted his sensational start at Norwich after his January transfer, it would have been fair enough if it took Toure a bit of time to get his bearings.

Instead, he picked up right where he left off.

After three appearances off the bench – including a two-assist contribution against Millwall – Toure banged in a hat-trick on the weekend against Bristol City in his first start since returning to full fitness. It was his second hat-trick for the club. No player in Norwich’s history has scored three goals in a game twice in their first 10 appearances.

His stats would have looked even better had he put away a 10th-minute penalty against Derby, which was saved by goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterström.

But instead of letting that moment get to him, Toure recovered to level the scores just after the hour mark with a thunderous shot that went in off the underside of the crossbar – and that, Clement said post-match, was the mark of a strong mentality, reminding the manager of a baby-faced Haaland.

“I’ve seen also strikers tremble and starting to doubt [themselves]. It’s not been the case with Mo until now,” he said.

“There will be a moment when he has several games that he doesn’t score – that’s part of being a striker.

“I saw many years ago a young Haaland playing in Salzburg, and I was so impressed with him, about how he prepared his game. In the warm-up, they were giving crosses and he was missing chances, and then he was really angry.

“When he scored, he was like winning the Champions League – so happy. But you felt the fire in the boy. And I said to my staff, I think he was 17 or 18 or something: ‘This guy is going to have a really big future.’

“That’s also a quality. It’s not only technical and physical qualities, but you need to have the mental qualities to be a good player, and Mo is showing really good stuff there.”

Toure’s scoring record for the Socceroos isn’t too bad either. He has two goals from his five caps, but there would be more of both if it weren’t for his groin mishap.

Popovic will be crossing his fingers and toes that he remains injury-free for the rest of the season – and so too should anyone who wants to see Australia do well at the World Cup.