Official: Dortmund Sign Erling Haland

Rumors had been swirling that Borussia Dortmund were one of the favorites to land him and that they would have to fend off clubs like Leipzig, Juventus, and Manchester United, but Bild and the club’s social media pages have confirmed the signing of Norweigian wunderkind/RB Salzburg striker Erling Haland to a contract that runs until 2024 for a reported fee of €20 million.

Standing 6’4” at just 19 years of age, Haland has exploded onto the scene this season by scoring 26 goals across 24 overall matches for RB Salzburg after joining from Molde in January 2019. Haland has lit up the Austrian Bundesliga for 16 goals in 14 appearances, and has put up eight goals in six Champions League appearances against teams such as Liverpool and Napoli.

Haland has also made waves for country as he won the Golden Boot at the 2019 FIFA U20 World Cup with nine goals in three games, including a single-match U20 World Cup record five goals against Honduras. He’s recently made his Norweigian senior team debut in September, and looks to be a mainstay for Norway moving forward.

Despite his size and his age, Haland is exceptionally skilled with the ball at his feet in tight spaces, has good positioning off-ball and knows when to make his runs, and has the speed to create separation from defenders to find space for a shot on target. And as stated earlier, his finishing has been absolutely clinical this season, scoring 26 goals for Salzburg in big matches and in some of European football’s toughest and most intimidating stadiums.

He should definitely be able to find the field for Dortmund, who are lacking a striker at the moment with Alcacer constantly on the injury report and no true replacement on the first team. He’ll also be available for Champions League registration, as Salzburg didn’t make it to the knockout stages.

This continues an absolutely incredible year of transfers for Borussia Dortmund, beginning this summer when the club landed Brandt, Hazard, Hummels, and Schulz. All credit to Michael Zorc for assembling a swathe of young talent over the last couple of seasons.