Andy Cole: No one is better at finishing than Haaland and any team will have its downturns

Manchester United star Andy Cole accepted an exclusive interview with Sky Sports. He talked about Haaland and the Premier League championship.

When you watch a game, can you tell quickly if a forward is a top player? Are you seeing something that maybe others haven't noticed?

Andy Cole: Yes, of course. Because I obviously look at the game from my perspective, the way I've played in the past and what areas I'd be trying to get into if I were playing now. When I play, I always try to do the opposite of what the centre-back wants. The central defender wants to put the defense first? no problem. I want to get in behind. What if the central defender wants to drop back? No problem with me. I'll keep the ball at my feet. So you just have to try to mix it up. So yes, when I watch games, I look for certain things, certain attributes in a centre-forward and I say to myself, okay, he might score. He might struggle to score goals, but that's just my opinion.

Erling Haaland, can we hear your thoughts on him? Because he can't stop scoring goals.

Andy Cole: He's incredible. What else do you expect when you have a team built just for you? You know, if he wasn't in the team, injured or whatever, I really believe City would have a hard time scoring goals because if you look at the number of goals he's scoring now, if you look at City as a team, you take away his goals, where are the goals coming from. But this guy, what he does, is phenomenal in his field.

How good is he, and how difficult is it for him to perform consistently and stably like this?

Andy Cole: I think as a finisher in that area, I don't think I've seen anyone do a better job than him in terms of pure finishing.

Is he the best Premier League forward of all time?

Andy Cole: I'm not so sure about the goal and what he did. He's definitely up there. But when you talk about the best Premier League forwards, the ones who have scored goals in the Premier League don't play the way he does. So, you have to think the other way around and say, 'If a team is built around this individual and they play this way, how many goals can he score?' So, I mean, he's up there, but I'm not going to sit back and say he's the best striker the Premier League has ever seen. I can’t sit back and say that because I have so much respect for the guys who have scored goals before him, in other eras.

What do you think of the title race this season?

Andy Cole: I think this is going to be another competitive season. I know Arsenal are absolutely on fire at the moment, but as we know in football, every team goes through a downturn. Ultimately, we knew Arsenal's downturn was coming. Manchester City's downturn will come. I don’t know if Liverpool have gone through this yet. We still have a long way to go. The coach used to say to us: The season doesn’t really start until Easter. I mean, we said ourselves the season is almost over. But mentally, it’s game after game. You'll lose points and you'll gain points, and at that point in the season, you just don't know what's going to happen.

Fast forward to next summer, the World Cup, England's chances, Harry Kane. Do we have an alternative for him? What do you think of the forward situation?

Andy Cole: England's chances are like any other top nation. Harry Kane has also had a fantastic start to the season. If he continues that form heading into the World Cup, everyone will be very, very happy. If he were injured or out of form at that stage, what replacement might we have? Only time will tell, because you won't know if you have a replacement until someone is given a chance to play time to prove they're good enough.

It's that simple for me. You want to believe that everyone is going to get that chance and that if Harry gets injured or out of form or whatever, there's someone who can step up. And I truly believe that if someone gets a chance to play a game, they can step up. That's why you play for your club in the Premier League or other leagues week in and week out. So, yes, they can step up, but people also need to believe they can do it too.