The Daily Bee: Borussia Dortmund Eye Candidates to Replace Erling Haaland

Good Morning Fear the Wall,

Borussia Dortmund are preparing for life without Erling Haaland, as the Norwegian striker is sure to leave the club this summer, most likely to Manchester City. According to reports in BILD, the leading candidates to replace him are Stade Reims’ Hugo Ekitike and Sparta Prague’s Adam Hlozek.

As someone that watches a reasonable amount of Ligue 1, I’m aware of Hugo Ekitike, who has had a breakout season at just 19 years old, putting up solid numbers in Ligue 1 this season (0.86 G+A/90) for Stade Reims. I can’t claim to have studied him closely, but he’s a big lad with a decent touch and an eye both for goal and for creating opportunities for those around him. Looking at his numbers, he looks like a really good fit for Rose’s system, as someone that can score and create for those around him, as well as putting up good progressive carrying numbers, and a really impressive amount of defensive work (though Reims spend plenty of time out of possession, so take that with a pinch of salt).

Honestly, I really like Ekitike. He’s certainly not the finished product, so it is a bit of a risk, but he should also be relatively cheap (Transfermarkt values him at £18.00m). I would understand if the club decided that taking a punt on a talented kid could be too risky, but if the summer spending limits how much they can splurge on a striker, I think he’s a really good option.

As to Adam Hlozek, I can’t claim to have watched a single second of him playing, but he’s been putting up some mean numbers for Sparta Prague over the last couple seasons (~1 G+A/90) and at only 19 he’s a real prospect.

Birminscran City

Birmingham always gets a bad rap. For some reason, people are convinced it is a grim place with little going for it. I think it’s a weird hang-up from a time when Birmingham was genuinely rubbish. But let me tell you, it’s a lovely city and it is a great place to get all kinds of food. Incredibly, it seems like Birmingham City (an actual bad part about the city) is also serving up straight bangers.

Oh go on then. Almost makes watching Birmingham City worth it.

The Daily Buzz

Who would your prefer out of Ekitike and Hlozek? Or who would you target instead?