It will be difficult to keep Erling Haaland, admits Hans-Joachim Watzke
Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke has admitted that it will be difficult to keep Erling Haaland at the club in 2022 but they will not give up hope of retaining him. Haaland reportedly has a release clause that activates in the summer of 2022 and has been heavily linked with a move away.
Erling Haaland joined Borussia Dortmund in January 2020 from Red Bull Salzburg following a set of impressive displays that captured the attention of the world with the Norwegian rejecting interest from a slew of European bigwigs for the German side. Not only that, Dortmund were quick to react and they secured the 21-year-old's signature for a reported fee of ā¬20 million, and things have gone according to plan so far.
The forward's prolific scoring form since then has attracted the attention of several clubs across Europe such as Real Madrid, Manchester United, Manchester City, etc. The interest from the top European clubs is the result of a reported release clause that is set to activate for the Norwegian in the upcoming summer transfer window. Watzke conceded that it is unlikely that the Norwegian stays with the Bundesliga side but also revealed that there is a slight chance that Haaland continues his stint at the club.Ā
"Of course it will be difficult. I am not saying, however, that it is completely out of the question. We'll do everything we can to keep our top players loyal to us in the future," Watzke told Welt am Sonntag.Ā
The Dortmund CEO is confident that the club can replace the star striker if he chooses to depart in the transfer window next summer.
"We have to have the self-confidence to say we'll find a new top striker again," he added.