Top goal poachers in the Premier League have been contacted by Netflix for a fly-on-the-wall documentary series on the art of goalscoring.
Netflix is interested in the initiative, following the success of Quarterback, an 8-episode series launched in July 2023.
Quarterback offers an all-access insight into three NFL quarterbacks for the 2022 football season in America.
Reports indicate that Erling Haaland of Manchester City and Ollie Watkins of Aston Villa have both been approached, while Liverpool’s Mo Salah is set to be approached too.
Haaland is said to have rejected the proposal and it is unknown if Watkins and Salah are interested.
How big of an impact will Erling Haaland missing out of the Neflix documentary series be?
Erling Haaland singling himself out from the concept will be a big blow for the streaming giants, given his stature and value in modern-day football.
It is believed that no striker from Arsenal has yet been contacted, with the North London goalscorer Bukayo Saka, notching up 13 league goals thus far this campaign.
The amount of access the proposed initiative would achieve is uncertain, but it is expected to request behind-the-scenes access as the Quarterback series.
The hidden cams will monitor the players closely, offering fans an exposé into what makes a prolific striker.
Quarterback raptly tracks the lives of Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes, the Minnesota Vikings’ Kirk Cousins, and the Atlanta Falcons’ Marcus Mariota on and off the pitch.
It also documents intimate moments with their families, friends, and trainers, alongside during practice and games.
Netflix on Tuesday, March 19, 2024, announced a subsequent season that will be launched this summer, and it is titled Receiver.
If the striker series begins without hassles, filming is expected to commence at the beginning of the 2024-25 season in August, with its release period expected to be in autumn 2025.
Did Amazon Prime begin the trend?
The latest proposal follows a recent spike in football documentary series, with rivals Amazon Prime starting the trend with the “All or Nothing” franchise, which has received a tremendous following across the globe.
“All or Nothing” offers viewers a revealing insight into the world’s biggest football teams and they have covered some gigantic clubs thus far.
These clubs include; Man City, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, and Juventus in the Italian Serie A and national sides Brazil and Germany.
Chris Sutton, who played as a striker during his playing days, featuring for several teams including; Chelsea, Aston Villa and Norwich City also waded in on the potential Netflix series.
He lauded the project and added: “Yeah, I can see why Netflix wants a documentary series on strikers. It’s the Hollywood role, the glory position, the money shot.”
Sutton also indicated that he would like to know more about Erling Haaland and it is important that they get him involved.
The 51-year-old said: “I wonder who will be in the Netflix series? I’d like to know a bit more about Erling Haaland.
“They’d need to get him involved. Ollie Watkins? He’s having a fine season. Not everyone plays with a center forward these days. Kids want to be Number 10’s, the Messi effect.”
