Kevin De Bruyne says Erling Haaland is the greatest in the box he has ever played with after star striker netted another hat-trick against West Ham

Kevin De Bruyne has had the pleasure of assisting many top scorers in his time, such as Sergio Agüero, Fernando Torres and Romelu Lukaku.

But no player can boast as many goals as Erling Haaland, who scored 70 goals in 69 Premier League games with his hat-trick against West Ham.

Is the Norwegian the best striker De Bruyne has ever played with?

“It’s a difficult question. In the box I would say yes,” De Bruyne said. “Generally maybe Kun (Sergio Aguero), but it depends on what you are talking about. Erling is the most productive striker I have played with.

“I’ve played with very good strikers, like Kun, Samuel Eto’o, Fernando Torres, there are some good guys. It’s difficult to compare, but the statistics speak for themselves. He’s started the season well and let’s hope he keeps it up.”

Haaland will no doubt have been relieved that there was no talk of a summer move for De Bruyne, who has provided 113 assists in the Premier League.

The midfielder is said to be interested from Saudi Arabia, but he stressed that he is not close to leaving. ‘I have not spoken to anyone,’ he said.

“There’s been a lot of noise and news. I said I expected a quiet summer in the summer and that’s what happened. I went on vacation for four weeks, came back and started training. That’s it. Nothing to tell. I haven’t been entertained by anyone or spoken to anyone.”

Man City continued their perfect start to the season with victory at the London Stadium

De Bruyne, who has been at City since 2015, is in the final year of his contract but is in no rush to make any decisions about his future.

“As the season goes on, I’m sure there will be conversations. I really don’t feel a rush right now. It’s really hard to talk hypothetically because there are obviously things you want as a family, as a person, as a project.”