Man City ace Erling Haaland nicknamed 'Daemon' from HBO's 'House of the Dragon'

Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has been given the nickname "Daemon" after it became clear that he has an uncanny resemblance to English actor Matt Smith, who plays the character Daemon Targaryen in the hit HBO series "House of the Dragon."

The Norwegian star's Manchester City teammates have also noticed that their new striker is the spitting image of the character in the show, which is a spin-off of the hugely successful "Game of Thrones" series. His fans as well as his teammates have reportedly started calling him both "Daemon" and "Dragon" after the volatile young prince.

Indeed, Haaland has set the Premier League on fire, scoring nine goals in his first five games including two hat-tricks. He was the star of City's 6-0 victory over Nottingham Forest last week.

According to The Sun, Manchester City players like John Stones and Phil Foden have been thoroughly impressed by the new arrival, who made the move from Borussia Dortmund earlier this summer. A source added that some of the players are fans of the show, and have started using the nickname for the 22-year-old Norwegian.

As for Haaland, he does not mind the comparison. "He loves a joke and thinks it's funny. Daemon is unpredictable and so is Erling so their personality's fit as well," added the source.

Twitter has also exploded with side-by-side comparisons of the footballer and Smith, who also played Prince Philip in the first season of Emmy Award winning series "The Crown."

"House of the Dragon" is a prequel spin-off to "Game of Thrones," which was another well-loved HBO show based on the book series "A Song of Ice and Fire" by George RR Martin.

Prince Daemon is the younger brother of King Viserys Targaryen, an ancestor of Daenerys Targaryen from "Game of Thrones." The Targaryens are the ruling family of Westeros, and they are known as strong warriors who are able to ride and control mighty fire-breathing dragons.

It remains to be seen if Haaland will leave a trail of scorched earth as he blazes past Manchester City's opponents as they defend their Premier League title.