- 18 hours ago
‘No need for Haaland sale deadline’ – Dortmund bullish over keeping forward
Robin Bairner
- Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
- 5 min read
Erling Haaland does not have a deadline put on any potential move away from Borussia Dortmund this summer, according to sporting director Michael Zorc.
Haaland continues to be linked with a plethora of clubs around Europe, with Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea and Manchester City among those most closely associated with the player.
READ MORE: Five games, no goals: is transfer talk distracting Haaland?
Indeed, the 20-year-old Norway international’s agent Mino Raiola and father were spotted in Spain last weekend, allegedly to hold talks with Barcelona and Madrid.
As transfer speculation over Haaland hots up, Dortmund have been insistent on their desire to keep him.
They were similarly bullish over Jadon Sancho as the England winger was pursued by Manchester United last summer, famously placing a deadline on the date a deal needed to be complete by before it was discounted entirely.
Man Utd missed this deadline and no move for Sancho was ever completed, despite speculation that last virtually until the close of the summer window.
Thus far, there is no such parameter on a deal for Haaland.
Dortmund’s Haaland transfer stance
“I don’t see the need to set deadlines for transfers at the moment,” said Zorc.
“With Erling Haaland, we have a clear stance which we have communicated to the parties involved.
“Yesterday I spoke to Mino Raiola. We’ve made our intentions very clear. It’s no problem when Alfie [Haaland’s father] and Mino want to take a sunbathe on the Mediterranean Sea.
“I am relaxed because I know what we want.”
As the speculation rises, Haaland, who has scored at the rate of around one goal per game this season, has hit an unusually dry spell.
Indeed, for the first time in his career, he has gone five games without finding the net.
Dortmund desperately need their hitman to rediscover his shooting boots if they are to qualify for the Champions League next season as they presently lie fifth in the Bundesliga, seven points shy of Eintracht Frankfurt in fourth.
