Premier League Golden Boot: Hat-trick king Haaland already odds-on so is the race already over?

Erling Haaland is already odds-on to win the Premier League Golden Boot after scoring his second hat-trick in two matches.

The Norwegian has nine goals from five appearances and is 1.392/5 to finish the season as top goalscorer on the Betfair Exchange - almost exactly the same price as City are to retain their Premier League title.

On Wednesday, he scored a first-half treble against Nottingham Forest to follow the hat-trick he hit against Crystal Palace at the weekend.

It's been a whirlwind rise for Haaland since his arrival in England this summer.

He was 4.03/1 in the Golden Boot market at the beginning of July but had come in to 2.111/10 during City's first match of the Premier League season, in which Haaland struck two against West Ham.

He went odds-on after his performance against the Eagles.

His club are 35/1 to complete a unique Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup, Champions League quadruple this season. With the 22-year-old in this kind of form those odds will appeal to some punters.

From Golden Boy to Golden Boot favourite

No foreign player has ever won the Golden Boot in his first season in England. But Haaland has little time for precedent and settles quickly at clubs.

In 2019-20 with Salzburg, he became the first teenager to score in five consecutive Champions League matches.

A year later, playing for Borussia Dortmund, he was the Champions League top scorer with 10.

In his two-and-a-half seasons at Dortmund, he scored 59 Bundesliga goals in 62 appearances.

At every level, he steps up and adapts quickly.

Can Kane, Mitrovic or Salah catch Haaland?

In the Premier League top score charts, Haaland is four goals ahead of nearest rival Aleksandar Mitrovic 32.031/1 in the goal charts.

No other player in the Golden Boot market has single figure odds, with bettors making Harry Kane 12.523/2 the biggest threat to a Haaland.

The England captain has four goals for Tottenham so far. Not bad for a player who is supposed to struggle in August and usually gets better as the campaign goes on.

But his involvement for England at the World Cup could complicate matters. Haaland, meanwhile, has the luxury of a month off, as Norway didn't qualify, while some of his Golden Boot rivals sweat in the Qatar heat.

Mo Salah 16.015/1 is another who won't be involved in Qatar and the three-time winner is likely to compete for the Golden Boot.

Early days but everything is in place for Haaland

It's a steep drop from Haaland's odds to those of his rivals, all of whom have more Premier League experience.

The competition is only five games old and anything, including injuries, can happen. Defenders will find ways of adapting to his playing style.

The problem is, however, that a striker with as much pace, power and finesse as Haaland is difficut to stop even if you know what he is going to try to do.

And in Pep Guardiola he has the perfect manager, not to mention a fabulous supply line from Kevin de Bruyne, to help Haaland kick on to even more remarkable feats.

Fancy a third hat-trick on the spin? Haaland is 10.09/1 to get one this weekend away to Aston Villa.