How would Liverpool line up with Haaland?

David Lynch

• Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
• 2 min read

Erling Haaland has been a Borussia Dortmund player for less than a year but already speculation over his future is rife.

Since joining the Bundesliga club from RB Salzburg in January, the 20-year-old has continued to score goals at a barely believable pace.

His record in the German top-flight reads 18 goals in 20 appearances, and he has now scored 12 goals in just 10 outings in the Champions League across his short career.

No wonder, then, that Europe’s biggest clubs are circling.

Manchester United, who missed out on Haaland when he moved at the turn of the year, are still believed to be keen, while the likes of Manchester City and Real Madrid have also been linked.

And if rumours of a €75 million release clause becoming active in 2022 prove to be true, then a number of other clubs are sure to enter the running soon enough.

However, RB Salzburg sporting director Christoph Freund this week declared that he already knows the striker’s next destination: Liverpool.

Responding to a suggestion that Anfield might be Haaland’s next move, Freund confidently declared: “That’s where he will land.”

So, if Europe’s hottest striking talent does indeed pitch up on Merseyside, where might he fit in?

Liverpool have boasted one of the most feared front lines in football for the last three seasons in Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino.

But there have been signs of late that the break-up of that famous trio might not be too far away.

Firmino’s erratic form and diminishing returns in front of goal have led to suggestions that he could be the first man phased out.

And, while Diogo Jota has put pressure on the 29-year-old’s place in the team, he is a better fit for either wing rather than leading than line.

As such, Firmino’s decline could open up a timely vacancy for Haaland, particularly if he does stick around at Dortmund for one more season.

Just how the use of an out-and-out No.9 would affect the goal returns of Liverpool’s prolific wingers remains to be seen.

But, if a player of Haaland’s status and potential is available, then a tactical rethink is a worthwhile consequence.