The thing that continues to stand out with him is the relentless and drive for, and toward, goal - it's not often you pick up on that, even with prolific goalscorers. I see him being compared to numerous goalscorers of yore, but there's not really a match for him because his attributes are freakish, but that centred focus on driving toward threatening positioning, the hissy fits, the pouting, the obsession with scoring again and again: RVN, C.Ronaldo and perhaps Inzaghi come to mind for the same kind of physical desire and remonstrations.
I don't think the comparisons to other strikers match for the simple reason that if you watch Haaland, is quite clumsy and his game is not complete, or at least tidy, so mentioning the likes of Vieri, Adriano and so forth isn't a match. Vieri and Adriano both had sublime striking technique to the point it was known you don't give either even a moment to draw back their left foot whilst they had a sight on goal - this was assured and predictable striking from both of them. Haaland is not like that and on top of the above, would be more likely to drive towards goal than strike the ball from distance. Adriano is not a match with Vieri, also in that he was a juggernaut who could run wherever he wanted irrespective of markers or tracking pressure specifically because of his power and speed. Vieri had the power, Haaland has some of the speed but neither have the combination of both that compares to Adriano, who, as
@giorno stated, scared defenders on and off the ball and had multiple men scrambling towards his general area of the pitch, one usually to try and face him head on, and one or two trying desperately to sweep up behind the first man. That's not applicable to Haaland who, in the first instance, is going to be trying to run away from the ball and into the box as an instinct and requires more tracking by able runners than concern he's going to get on the ball and take a crack at goal, from any distance, as soon as he has a chance to.
Haaland has the kind of pace the likes of Inzaghi and Van Nistlerooy did not, but the mindset he has is more remniscent of these types - the foxes in the box, but he has nowhere near RVN's technical acumen, but neither is he as bereft as Inzaghi, so again, the matching process falls short pretty quickly, but for sure, his innate instincts to make the runs he does and slip markers with doubled movements is much more remniscent of these kind of forwards than the type who are a threat (via shooting) further from goal like the aforementioned or a Shearer, C.Ronaldo etc.
Seems to me he is a hybrid - an amalgamation of a fair few who have gone before, which is why different people are seeing different things they identify in his game and compare favourably to what has gone before. He's an oddity and unique - a very interesting striker to analyse especially so with the desire he displays on a game by game basis.
I'm pretty sure whatever he is now, he'll be more than a few years down the line. As stated, he is clumsy, or at least unrefined in aspects of his play, but at the same time, he shows glimpses of what might become intrinsic to his game in the future. Things like: lay offs into to turns and drives for the return ball; 1-touch into spins/splits away from the ball; tight control and hold-up. He does them fleetingly a the moment, and in the very same game can let basic things slip or flub them. There is abundant room for growth, which is to be expected when talking about 19-year old strikers not named Ronaldo or Kluivert.
What I like the most about him is the mentality, not only to score goals or drive forward, but to work his centrebacks over and over again, which, slowly but surely fatigues the mind just as much as the body and leads to mistakes and panic as Haaland's runs accumulate. It might be seen as pointless to run forward as much as he does, but his stamina is a real asset in this respect because CB's have to match those runs whilst at the same time, Haaland sets traps and constantly tests their wits. A sharp #10 or midfield behind Haaland will start to see openings to exploit and the gaps Haaland is working for them, which is beneficial to his team and suggests that eventually, particularly in the last quarter of games, there are opportunities to be had and goalscoring chances aplenty. Haaland and Odegaard at the Euros should be an interesting pair to watch, and if they both continue to develop as they're threatening to do, should become a gruesome twosome for Norway.
Haaland is a #10's dream. Someone like him with a peak Oezil or a Rui Costa etc. behind him would be a fun watch. Further to that, he makes the game so much easier for widemen, too, because not only does he drive forward, he then splits off to a post when and where necessary, right across his markers whilst leaving acres of space for someone else to follow in on (a ghosting #8, or a sharp wing-forward). You can see why teammates would love playing with him as he makes things considerably easier for them either to supply him, or exploit the spaces (ruptures) he leaves behind himself.
The way he plays is a breath of fresh air and as much of a curiosity there is in how many he'll score etc. the tenets of strike play he exhibits are just as fun to watch and it is freakish for him to have so many of them at 19, whilst still being far from the finished article. On his current trajectory, you have to wonder what he'll look like by 22/23.
