Who is Erling Haaland’s cousin? What team does Albert Tjaland play for, age - how many goals has he scored

Albert Tjaland is aiming to follow in the footsteps of his cousin Erling Haaland
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The 22-year-old striker has scored a staggering 20 goals in his 13 games for the club, including three hat-tricks - and he is already being tipped as a contender for the Ballon d’Or in years to come. The Norwegian striker is currently following in the footsteps of his father, Alfie Haaland, who played in defence for Manchester City from 2000 until 2003.

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The Haaland family has a habit of producing talented footballers and Erling’s cousin Albert Tjaland is the latest member to be making a name for himself. Here we take a look at the career of Albert Tjaland so far and whether he has the potential to become a star in years to come...

Haaland has scored 21 goals in 23 games for Norway (Getty Images)Haaland has scored 21 goals in 23 games for Norway (Getty Images)
Haaland has scored 21 goals in 23 games for Norway (Getty Images)

Who is Albert Tjaland?

Albert Braut Tjaland is a Norwegian football player who was born on 11 February 2004. He is currently 18 years old and, like his cousin Haaland, he also plays as a striker.

Tjaland currently plays for Erling’s former club Molde in the top tier of Norwegian football. As it stands, Molde are top of the Eliteserien and are on course to win their first league title since 2019.

Molde were previously managed by ex Manchester United manager and club legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer who had stints at the club from 2011 until 2014 and again from 2015 until 2018.

What has his career been like so far?

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Tjaland started out at local lower league side Rosseland, before joining another of Haaland’s former clubs Bryne. Tjaland was just 11-years-old when he signed for Bryne, but despite his age he played with the under-13s team on a regular basis.

The talented Norwegian forward impressed at Bryne and it had been reported that Tjaland scored a total of 69 goals in 37 games for their youth team.This impressive form caught the eye of Molde and Tjaland completed a transfer to the Norwegian giants in the summer of 2020.

Tjaland is yet to establish himself as a first team regular at Molde, however he enjoyed a successful professional debut for the club and scored during a NM cup victory over a third division team.

Could Albert Tjaland be a future star?

Whilst there is no doubt that Tjaland is a talented player, it is yet to be seen whether he has the potential to translate his youth team form to a professional level. The Norwegian striker has had limited opportunities for the first team and although plenty of hype has circulated around the teenager, his manager Erling Moe is determined not to rush Tjaland into the first team.

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Moe said: “He has a great future ahead of him if he does the everyday things 100 per cent and correctly. But I think that Erling is still a few steps ahead. [Tjaland] is an exciting boy with many good qualities.”

Why has Haaland’s cousin been trending on social media?

There is already a great deal of hype surrounding Haaland’s cousin which has led to a host of fabricated statistics exaggerating the number of goals that the forward has scored.

One Twitter user tricked thousands of people on social media by sharing a post of a player scoring a wonder goal. The post said: “Erling Haaland’s cousin Albert Braut Haaland plays with Norwegian club Bran: 37 matches- 64 goals he is 18 years old. This family will ruin the fun of football.”

However, it was later discovered that the goal was in fact scored by Preston North End midfielder Brad Potts during a Championship match against Luton Town. A number of football accounts have been quick to mimic the post on their Twitter. Football Joe shared a photo of actor House of the Dragon actor Matt Smith with the same caption and Burton Albion were also quick to join in on the joke.

Does Erling Haaland have any other footballer relatives?

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Haaland is the son of former Premier League defender Alfie Haaland, who enjoyed successful spells in the Premier League for Nottingham Forest, Leeds United and Manchester City. Alfie was a part of the Leeds side which reached the semi-final of the UEFA Cup in 2000 and is best remembered in the Premier League for his long standing rivalry with Manchester United midfielder Roy Keane.

Haaland’s other cousin, Jonatan Braut Brunes, is also a professional footballer. Brunes is the same age as Haaland and currently plays as a striker for Stromsgodset in the Norwegian top flight.

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