Erling Haaland's Bundesliga rookie is the Topps slab worth paying up for

Erling Haaland slid in at the back post in the 78th minute on Nov. 4 to beat RB Leipzig 3-2 for Manchester City, his 13th goal in nine games against a club that has to be sick of him by now. Three days later he went quiet at the City Ground, where Nottingham Forest beat City 3-1 for City's third straight league loss. The market for his 2019 Topps Chrome rookies has barely answered either game. No raw copy or PSA 10 of the Bundesliga #72 has sold since the Leipzig goal, while the UEFA Champions League #74's PSA 9s are still trading about where they did in October.

The real repricing came in July, when his two goals against Brazil sent Norway to its first World Cup quarterfinal. That makes this a choice between the two rookies, not a read on one goal.

The #74 has the better price. A #74 PSA 10 sold for $380 on Nov. 1 against $790 for a #72 PSA 10 on Oct. 31. The 10s don't explain that gap, because PSA has graded 1,275 #72 PSA 10s against 1,385 of the #74. The #72 is a thin market too. Only a handful of PSA 10s changed hands in October. A #72 PSA 9 brought just $230 on Oct. 27, less than either rookie's PSA 10.

But the #72 has far fewer copies behind those 10s. PSA has graded 2,798 #74s against 1,930 #72s, with about twice as many 9s sitting behind the #74. Raw is lopsided the same way. eBay had 13 raw #74s up Sunday, starting at $100. The last raw #72 sold for $160 on Sept. 10. The only one on eBay Sunday has been listed since July.

The Bundesliga set holds the top of his market as well. Haaland's two biggest sales, according to Card Ladder, are the $610,000 Superfractor auto on June 13 and the $518,500 Superfractor on July 2.

City plays Fulham on Nov. 21 and Napoli on Nov. 24, but I wouldn't chase either game. I'd skip the #74 because PSA has graded more of them in 10, in 9 and in total. I'd offer $790 on a #72 PSA 10, the number the last seller took off an $875 ask. I wouldn't pay the $900 the cheapest copy on eBay wants.