‘It will be difficult to keep him’: Borussia Dortmund are preparing for life without Erling Haaland as club’s CEO admits a summer exit is likely… as Bundesliga outfit turn to Karim Adeyemi to fill the void that will be left
- Erling Haaland looks set to leave Borussia Dortmund for a big club this summer
- The Norwegian striker has a £64m clause in his contract that kicks in in June
- While Dortmund want him to stay, their is an acceptance that it would be hard
Borussia Dortmund must start planning for life without Erling Haaland, the club’s CEO has admitted.
The Norwegian striker has been a revelation at Signal Iduna Park since joining the Bundesliga outfit in the winter of 2020.
He’s scored 60 goals in 56 appearances across all competitions, turning the heads of every top team in Europe.
Borussia Dortmund have accepted that they are likely to lose Erling Haaland in the summer
A clause in the 21-year-old’s contract means that he will be available for just £64million this summer.
An affordable sum for the biggest clubs on the continent, Joachim-Hans Watzke has admitted that it will be ‘difficult’ for Dortmund to hold on to their prized asset – even if they wanted to.
‘Who would give one of the best strikers in Europe away in the winter market if they didn’t have to?’ Watzke said in an interview with Der Spiegel, as per Marca.
‘He will not leave in January. Dortmund is still in three competitions and we want to compete with the best teams.
‘Of course it’ll be difficult to retain him. However, we want to and we’ll try.
Club CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke has admitted it will be ‘difficult’ to keep the Norwegian striker
‘Haaland will not leave in January, but in summer it will be difficult to keep him.’
Reports in Germany suggest that Real Madrid are the preferred destination for Haaland, who would like to follow in the footsteps of Cristiano Ronaldo.
It leaves Dortmund looking to fill the void the striker will leave, and reports suggest they are set to turn to another Red Bull Salzburg product.
According to Marca, Karim Adeyemi, the 19-year-old Germany international, has been identified as the ideal replacement.
Adeyemi has scored 18 goals in 28 appearances for the Austrian outfit this season, including three in the Champions League.
