The Norwegian has been a revelation since completing a €20 million move to Dortmund from Red Bull Salzburg in January 2019.
According to Watzke, Erling Haaland will stay at Dortmund one more season
Hans-Joachim Watzke has expressed confidence that Erling Haaland will stay at BVB for at least one more season. The Norwegian has been a revelation since completing a €20 million move to Dortmund from Red Bull Salzburg in January 2019. The Norwegian frontman scored 33 goals over the same number of appearances for the German club, including 17 in the first half of their last campaign. He drew a blank in his first game back after recovering from injury on Sunday, with Manuel Akanji and Jadon Sancho grabbing goals in a 2-0 home win over Wolfsburg. However, interim head coach Edin Terzic is likely to re-include Haaland in his starting XI for a landmark outing to RB Leipzig this coming weekend, as Dortmund strive to close the gap with current Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich.
The Norwegian should follow the same path as Lewandowski
The 20-year-old’s fanbase has grown since his move to Westfalenstadion, and Real Madrid are now reportedly looking to put Santiago Bernabeu ahead as a potential long-term successor to Karim Benzema. Manchester United and Manchester City have also had close ties to Haaland. Still, Watzke says he should follow the same path as Robert Lewandowski, who spent four years at Dortmund Dortmund before accepting an offer from Bayern Munich. Asked if the former Salzburg star could leave in 2021, the Dortmund CEO told reporters: “I don’t think that will happen. Erling and his advisor Mino Raiola know what we have. I can only advise him to do things like Robert Lewandowski.”
Watzke added on Haaland, needing more time to develop his game before looking for a new challenge at a higher level: “Haaland has given himself time to mature into an absolute world-class player at Dortmund. You won’t be able to do that in a year. Because it is clear that if Erling has to leave us at some point. He will only move to an even larger club, and so many are not considered. If you join a club like – for example, Real Madrid, you have to be global”. Haaland has been contracted to remain on Dortmund’s books until 2024. But it was reported that a €75 million clause was included in the deal, set to become active in 2022.