Have clear expectation that Erling Haaland will play for us next year, asserts Hans-Joachim Watzke
Erling Haaland signed for Borussia Dortmund in January 2020
|Twitte
Despite rumours about a potential move away from Erling Haaland, Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke is convinced that the Norwegian forward will be with the club next year. The 20-year-old has thrived for the Bundesliga giants with 53 goals in just 56 appearances for the club.
Considered to be one of the best young talents around and amongst the best center-forwards in the world despite being only 20, Erling Haaland’s future has been a subject of great debate. Whether it’s a potential move to Manchester City or Barcelona or Real Madrid or any of the clubs interested, the Norwegian has been heavily linked with fans across Europe keen to see where he goes next. That is especially given just how well he has performed for Borussia Dortmund with 53 goals in the sixteen months since he arrived.
However, while reports consider that this summer will be key for anything that happens or doesn’t happen to Haaland, Borussia Dortmund have been unwilling to sell him. That has now been confirmed by Hans-Joachim Watzke who admitted that he expects to see Haaland playing for the club next season. The Dortmund CEO also added that both Real Madrid and Barcelona know about the club’s stance and he’s totally relaxed over Haaland’s future since the forward isn’t leaving.
"I have the clear expectation that Erling Haaland will play for us next year. And I don't waste any thoughts on anything else. I think they (Real Madrid and Barcelona) know about the contract situation and our stance there as well. I am just totally relaxed. Nobody believed us with Jadon Sancho last summer until deadline day, and he's still with us today," Watzke told Sport Bild.
That, however, has been the complete opposite of the way Mino Raiola has treated Erling Haaland with the Norwegian’s agent on a tour of Europe’s biggest sides. That has many Dortmund fans worried about one of the club’s best players but Hans-Joachim Watzke admitted that he has no interest in commenting on that. He also added that they know the 20-year-old’s contract situation and that helps the club.
"You could of course start a game of ping-pong and attack each other in public every second day. You either have a model where you sign a player and then let him go again or you don't have it. We can live with it and feel well because we know the contract situation, which helps us a lot,” he added.
