Danny Murphy explains why Man City hero Erling Haaland isn’t in his Premier League team of the season

Erling Haaland is top of the Premier League goalscoring charts again, but that’s not enough to make Danny Murphy’s team of the season.

The Manchester City striker took his tally to 27 goals in the top flight this season in their crucial 2-0 win over Tottenham to put them top, and in the title race heading into the final day.

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Haaland remains one of the most clinical strikers in world football, but despite his quality, the Norwegian is not part of Murphy’s best XI, with Aston Villa star Ollie Watkins the man chosen instead.

The former Liverpool midfielder was asked to name his Premier League team of the season along with White and Jordan and when selecting his striker he said: “I went for Watkins at the top.

“Just because Haaland has done what we expect of him, Watkins has scored 27 goals in 52 games this season, 19 in the Prem, 13 assists and reached heights that I didn’t think he could, and probably the main reason why Villa are in the Champions League places, him.

“You don’t include Haaland?” asked host Jim White, and Murphy explained, “No, because he missed a lot of the season, Watkins throughout the season had a bigger impact.”

“I haven’t scored as many goals and if you said to me: ‘If you were manager, who would you have tomorrow?’ I would have Haaland, because Haaland is the best striker in the world. But I don’t choose who is the best player, I choose who has had the best season.

He added: “Throughout the season, (Watkins) has had more of an impact on Villa’s season than Haaland has on City’s. Haaland hasn’t scored as much as last season but City are still winning, They’re still winning games every week when he wasn’t there for three months.”

“Yes, but they won games without him,” he reiterated when Simon Jordan discussed his goals against Spurs and when asked if Villa hadn’t won games without Watkins, he replied, “Well, I don’t think he missed much.” “.

Murphy also revealed his full squad for the 2023/24 campaign, with all players included coming from the top seven in the table.

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“It’s a mixed bag, there’s always going to be people you leave out and other people who listen will say, ‘He should have gone in and he shouldn’t have gone in.’ I chose (Emiliano) Martinez in the Villa goal, I think he was a big reason for their success, he was exceptional,” Murphy added.

“I actually went for a back four, I went for Ben White at right back, a lot of my choices are players who have played almost the whole season and have always played well, not just moments I think it was great, this connection with (Bukayo) Saka.

“The left back, I think (Destiny) Udogie for me, young boy signed, first season in the Premier League at Tottenham. I know he’s been injured the last few weeks but overall his season has been great. It was a breath of fresh air, powerful, adventurous, skillful, can also defend himself, quickly.

“The two centre-backs, I thought the only one that came to mind that I thought deserved a mention but didn’t come in was (Micky) Van de Ven, another one at Tottenham, the first season was good. But I’ve gone for (Virgil) Van Dijk and (William) Saliba, pretty easy to pick those two, I was a cut above the others.

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“(Van Dijk has) been exceptional, absolutely exceptional, that’s the main reason why Liverpool were even able to mount a charge (for the title), to get to the point in the season where they were still at it, he was exceptional.

“So I opted for (Declan) Rice and Rodri (in midfield), I want to say to everyone who doubts those two, please. The only one who deserves a mention, probably Douglas Luiz at Villa, I think he was exceptional.

“Right ahead of them I went for (Martin) Odegaard because of his consistency throughout the season, I think he was pivotal in Arsenal’s challenge. I know ( Kevin) De Bruyne are fantastic but he only played half the season.

“And don’t get me wrong, if you said to me, ‘Who would you rather have?’ I would prefer that De Bruyne (Odegaard) played a vital role in Arsenal’s success.

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“Then I have an English trio. (Cole) Palmer, Chelsea, exceptional, probably the signing of the season, incredible, especially playing in the team, to shine like he did, incredible.

“I opted for (Phil) Foden on the left, you can play him anywhere right? And then I opted for Watkins up top.”

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