The rise of German football star Erling Haaland is certainly impressive – since joining Borussia Dortmund two years ago he has been skyrocketed into the farthest regions of elite football.
Now regarded as one of the best strikers on the planet, Haaland is constantly being linked with a move away from the Signal Induna Park and with a release clause that would allow him to leave for a fee of £75 million this summer, his future could lie outside of Germany – and the premier league are watching closely.
While most of these big money moves tend to keep a low profile to not send the betting on bet exchange into a frenzy, we do think Haaland has a number of options available to him. Read on, as we go through three of them for the Norwegian.
Stay at Dortmund
The first of Haaland’s options is pretty obvious. Just because a release clause is there, it doesn’t mean he has to jump ship straight away. While Red Bull Salzburg were the side that gave Haaland a chance on the biggest stage, making his name at the start of the 2019/20 season for his goals in the Champions League, it was Dortmund that propelled him into superstardom.
Dortmund have been bereft of a league title for over a decade now, but you get the sense that they are building a strong side with Haaland as the main talisman. At the centre of the team, and supported by talented youngsters like Jude Bellingham as well as Bundesliga stalwarts like Marco Reus and Mats Hummels, it seems that Dortmund aren’t far off competing for the title and if they can sort of their inconsistency, especially away from home which has really cost them this season, they could be back amongst the silverware with a good transfer window or two under their belt.
Premier League beckons
There are plenty of teams across England that will be vying for Haaland’s signature. The Norwegians father, Alf-Inge, was a Manchester City player, and the 21-year-old has admitted to having an affection for Leeds United. As well as City, Chelsea and Liverpool will be sniffing around the goal scorer, so he will hardly be short of options where the Premier League is concerned. Although, a move to the latter is less likely due to the Reds strict transfer budget making the move financially unviable.
Coming to England would be great for the league and Haaland would be able to test himself in a more competitive and physical division, one where his attributes will make him one of the finest strikers around. But the question will be whether a move here will just be a stepping stone to develop him for what we think is his other option, or what could well prove to be a final destination.
One of the superpowers
Haaland is arguably the most in demand 21-year-old on the planet, but many wonder if it is perhaps too soon for him to make the move to one of the three big clubs that could actually afford him — Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid. In terms of sheer size of club, Barcelona would usually be in consideration as well, but after their financial austerity, they don’t seem a realistic option. Making the step up would come with undeniable pressure and switching Bundesliga allegiances could lead to resentment from the Dortmund faithful — just ask Robert Lewandowski.
It is still unknown if Kylian Mbappé will make the move to Madrid himself, but if not, we could see Haaland being the long term successor to Karim Benzema or even playing with the Frenchman himself at PSG, forming a lethal strike force with Lionel Messi and Neymar, although one which would appear chaotic and attack minded on paper. Wherever Haaland ends up we are sure he can develop into the player he is destined to be, the question is just over which teams colours he’ll be celebrating in.
Image credit: Werner100359, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons