ERLING'S GOT THE BALLS

Gongless ace to burst Burnley balloon

- by ALEX HANKIN

IGNORE the Ballon ‘D'Or beauty pageant, Erling Haaland’s the only Golden Balls punters need.

Manchester City's mighty Norwegian has just finished a career-low 26th of 30 in the voting for the annual players’ gong - his fifth nomination, and his fifth miss.

I'm not one for conspiracy theories, but you can’t help thinking that if he looked a bit more like James Bond and bit less like the big geezer with the metal teeth, he'd have Ballons coming out of his ears.

He's certainly got a licence to thrill and goes into today’s home game against Burnley (3pm) in lethal form.

Haaland’s bagged 13 goals in his eight games for club and country this season, but there are still folks out there who believe that the City ace is

overrated

and they will get you in a corner and teli you all about it if you're not quick on your feet.

They won't catch the Big Yin though. Along with all his other astonishing attributes, Haaland’s simply too fast.

They clocked him at 34kmph in a sprint to score against Arsenal last time - that's over 21mph in old money, or £100 and three points on your licence if you're reading this in Wales.

He's a Ferrari built on the lines of a bin lorry.