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Manchester United superstar Marcus Rashford has named Erling Haaland as the Premier League's best player in the 2022-23 season. However, the Englishman picked Haaland's Manchester City teammate Kevin De Bruyne as the best player in the league over the last four or five years.
Haaland, 23, lit up the Premier League in his debut season last term, breaking the goal-scoring record in a single season along the way. He scored 36 goals and laid out eight assists in 35 league appearances, helping Pep Guardiola's side lift their fifth title in six years.
A left-footed centre-forward, the Norwegian also scored a whopping 12 goals in 11 UEFA Champions League games past season. He also bagged four domestic cup goals in six combined FA Cup and EFL Cup matches on his way to the prestigious treble last campaign.
While Rashford acknowledged Haaland's exploits, he picked De Bruyne as the best player in the Premier League in recent seasons. When asked to name his pick for the honor, the Manchester United man replied to The Overlap:
"The best player in the Premier League right now? It was definitely Haaland last season but over the last four-five years: De Bruyne."
De Bruyne, 32, has been City's talisman ever since he arrived from VfL Wolfsburg in a deal worth up to £55 million in 2015. He has helped them lift 15 trophies so far, including five Premier League titles.
A former Chelsea and KRC Genk player, De Bruyne has scored 64 goals and laid out 104 assists in 239 Premier League appearances for the Cityzens so far. He is averaging a goal or an assist at an excellent interval of every 109 minutes, despite operating in midfield.
Earlier last season, the 99-cap Belgium international relished his best-ever season in terms of his number of assists. He provided a staggering 31 assists in 49 overall matches, also scoring 10 goals along the way.
Ex-head coach says he offered Manchester United opportunity to rope in Erling Haaland
Ex-Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer revealed earlier this year that he had offered his former team the chance to sign Erling Haaland during his Molde days. He revealed to The Athletic:
"I got in contact with Manchester United because we had a talented striker who I thought they should have bought. But they didn't listen unfortunately. Four million, I asked for. But they never signed him!"
Solskjaer, who was the Red Devils' boss between December 2018 and November 2021, managed the Norwegian at Molde. He told the Old Trafford outfit to sign the left-footed striker during Jose Mourinho's time at the helm.
However, Manchester United opted against signing the Manchester City superstar, allowing him join RB Salzburg for around £7 million in January 2019. Incidentally, the Red Devils are currently on the hunt for a first-team striker this summer.
