Dortmund set out Erling Haaland transfer conditions amid Man Utd and Chelsea interest
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Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland has been heavily linked with a summer move to Manchester United and Chelsea. Earlier this month Dortmund’s CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke set out the conditions for any transfer amid links to the two Premier League giants.
Haaland has been sensational for the Black and Yellows after the German club triggered a £17.1million release clause in his contract with Red Bull Salzburg a year ago.
Recently, the Norway forward capped off an incredible first 12 months with Dortmund by reaching 25 goals in his first 25 Bundesliga games, becoming the first ever player to do so.
The 20-year-old was linked with a move to United before completing a switch to Germany and with Dortmund paying such a low fee – by today’s standards – the value for money is impressive.
It’s been reported recently that Chelsea have joined the race to sign Haaland, with United remaining interested despite any move for the striker now set to cost significantly more than what they could have signed him for 12 months ago.
The Blues spent £45m on RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner last summer, but so far the German striker has not reached the heights he was expected to.
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Frank Lampard looks set to lose Olivier Giroud at the end of the season as well, with the France international’s contract due to expire.
This could force the west London-based club into the transfer market, but they know if they were to bid for Haaland, then Roman Abramovich would have to provide a hefty sum.
As for United, they continue to be linked with a move for the forward, with Real Madrid also apparently keen.
However, Dortmund CEO Watzke has told Haaland that he should try and replicate what Robert Lewandowski did with the Bundesliga giants.
Lewandowski was at Dortmund for four years – from 2010 until 2014 – where he scored 74 Bundesliga goals in 131 appearances.
The Poland striker then moved onto rivals Bayern Munich, where his goalscoring record is absolutely phenomenal.
In 205 games for Bayern, the 32-year-old has found the back of the net on 183 different occasions – something Haaland has been advised to consider.
Watzke told Kicker: “I don’t think that [an exit] will happen. Erling and his advisor Mino Raiola know what they have in us.
“I can only advise him to do things like Robert Lewandowski. Lewandowski gave himself time to mature into an absolutely world-class player in Dortmund.
“You won’t be able to do that in a year. Because it is clear that if Erling should leave us at some point, then he will only go to an even bigger club, and so many are not considered.
“If you join a club – just for an example – Real Madrid, then you have to be world-class.”
Any United bid for Haaland could run into different problems, because the club have previously endured problems dealing with Haaland’s agent, Mino Raiola, in recent history.
The outspoken agent represents Paul Pogba and has often spoken publicly about his client’s desire to leave Old Trafford – something that caused backlash at the time.
Former United midfielder Paul Scholes told Pogba to tell his agent to “shut up” or just “sack him” back in December, after Raiola spoke to Italian press about his career in Manchester being ‘over’.
Speaking on BT Sport, Scholes said: “Paul pays this man to represent him. He represents him badly because Paul is a good lad.
“Everyone is looking from the outside, because it’s his agent, they’ll think he’s a bad lad, disrupting the dressing room, he isn’t.
“Paul has two options: tell him to shut up, or he sacks him.”
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