As a Haaland replacement
“Buffalo” Haller to medical check in Dortmund
The 28-year-old Sebastien Haller was recently champion with Ajax and also top scorer in the Netherlands. Photo: Armando Franca/AP/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Borussia Dortmund has found a replacement for Erling Haaland. Former Frankfurter Sébastien Haller should make BVB a serious champion competitor to FC Bayern in the coming season.
Now there is also a “buffalo” as a replacement for Erling Haaland: Borussia Dortmund will in all probability sign their dream goalscorer in Sébastien Haller and thus continue to prepare for the attack on series champions FC Bayern Munich.
One day after the presentation of star striker Sadio Mané in Munich, Haller received approval from his employer Ajax Amsterdam for a medical check-up in Dortmund, according to dpa information. According to Sky and “Ruhr Nachrichten”, he arrived shortly after 11 a.m. on Thursday.
Haller comes as a Haaland replacement
The Ivorian, who has been 28 since Wednesday, who became champion with Ajax and also top scorer in the Netherlands, has already left his mark in the Bundesliga as the leader of the “buffalo herd” at Eintracht Frankfurt with Ante Rebic and Luka Jovic. According to information from various media, it will cost a base fee of around 31 million euros plus bonus payments. BVB received 75 million euros from Manchester City for Haaland, whom Haller is to replace.
It can be interpreted whether Haller will become Dortmund’s record transfer, also because the surcharges are not always known. BVB paid around 30 million euros for Mats Hummels, Donyell Malen, André Schürrle and Karim Adeyemi, who was also brought in from RB Salzburg this summer. Transfermarkt.de lists Ousmane Dembélé as a record purchase with 35 million. Dortmund actually only paid 15 million to Stade Rennes for it, but after selling it to FC Barcelona for over 100 million, they had to pass on another 20 to the former club.
Dortmund continues to strengthen
Either way, Haller is one of the most expensive players in club history. And another sign that Dortmund don’t want to give in in the fight against Bayern’s long-term dominance. In Niklas Süle (free transfer from Munich), Nico Schlotterbeck (for 20 million from Freiburg) and Adeyemi, they have already signed three current German internationals in this transfer window alone. In addition, for 5.5 million Salih Özcan from Cologne, who recently made his debut in the Turkish national team.
Club boss Hans-Joachim Watzke refrains from the explicit declaration of war to Munich, but of course lurks for the end of Bayern’s ten-year championship subscription. “At some point it will crumble, at some point in the next few years it will collapse,” he said recently on “Deutschlandfunk”: “The more we shout about it, the more we encourage Bavarians to be even more careful. But I think something will happen in the next three years, that’s my feeling.”
BVB before major upheaval
Particularly noteworthy: The five new stars plus the new substitute keeper Alexander Meyer (Jahn Regensburg) are already bagged under the new, old trainer Edin Terzic before the training gallop on Monday. The squad is almost complete. Dortmund is still interested in Hoffenheim’s national player David Raum. But before the transfer of the left-back, which clubs from England are apparently also advertising for, sales candidates such as Nico Schulz, Raphael Guerreiro, Thorgan Hazard or possibly Emre Can would first have to bring in millions more.
Haller, who was born in France and went through all French junior teams before settling on the Ivory Coast senior team, successfully attacked for Eintracht Frankfurt from 2017 to 2019 and reached the semi-finals of the Europa League with the Hessen team. He came to Ajax via West Ham United.
