With Haaland out till December, Dortmund will need to turn to misfiring striker to save their season

Stefan Bienkowski

30 Oct 2021 10:29 BST
5 min read

Erling Haaland during Dortmund's defeat to Freiburg in Bundesliga — © ProShots

Borussia Dortmund’s start to the season hasn’t gone terribly wrong but one factor that has dogged the Bundesliga side is the fitness of Erling Haaland.

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The Norwegian striker looked simply unstoppable last season, but this time around niggling injuries have managed to get the better of him in terms of match fitness or forcing him out of games altogether.

Haaland has already missed three of Dortmund’s first nine games of the season and reports in Germany suggest a hip injury could see him remain out of action until late December.

As such, Dortmund will not only have to accommodate the loss of their best player but also find a way to get the best out of a striker they signed in the summer that hasn’t really got going quite yet.

© ProShots - Rose's Dortmund side will have to do without Haaland until December

Malen’s struggles in the Bundesliga

In theory, Dortmund should be just fine without Haaland because they signed a ready-made goalscorer in the form of Donyell Malen last season.

The Dutch forward made the move to Germany for a reported €30 million after bagging 27 goals and 10 assists in 45 games for PSV last season. However, that hasn’t been the case this time around.

So far this season, Malen has seriously struggled to adapt to the demands of the Bundesliga and Champions League and has so far managed just one goal and two assists in 14 games for Dortmund.

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A post shared by Donyell Malen (@donyellmalen)

Whether asked to play out wide as an inside forward or as a traditional No.9, Malen simply hasn’t got going and certainly isn’t offering the kind of performances Dortmund would have hoped to see for their money’s worth.

Without Haaland, Malen is the only experienced striker in Marco Rose’s side and it may come down to the Dutch forward to step into the Norwegian striker’s shoes and finally prove his worth to his new club.

If he can’t, not only will Malen’s position at the club be under serious scrutiny, but it may just prove to be a big enough problem to derail Dortmund’s entire season and potential title challenge.