Liverpool are reportedly the latest club to join the race to sign Borussia Dortmund star Erling Haaland, with the Bundesliga club admitting it will be “difficult” to keep him this summer.
Haaland has developed into arguably Europe’s best striker since moving to Dortmund from Red Bull Salzburg in 2019.
The season has begun in troubling form once more. He scored 13 goals in eight games across all competitions, and three braces in the German top flight.
Last season he helped Dortmund to win the DFB-Pokal and recover from a poor start to secure a place in this year’s Champions League group stage.
But having proven to be no match for the Bundesliga’s weary defences, Haaland looks set to follow the path of Jadon Sancho and try to advance his career elsewhere.
The Norwegian has been linked to Chelsea and Manchester United as well as Real Madrid.
Though the Black and Yellow successfully fended off interest in him in this year’s summer transfer window, it appears unlikely they will be able to do so again.
Liverpool is reported as the club hoping Dortmund fails in their attempts to keep Haaland.
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According to Mundo Deportivo, the Reds have now added their name to the list of suitors for the 21-year-old.
Jurgen Klopp’s side were named among the clubs vying to sign Haaland next summer, a list including Madrid, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain.
The Spanish newspaper claims that Haaland is an increasingly attractive target for those clubs, with a £77million release clause in his contract activating at the end of the campaign.
That release clause, combined with the interest of many of Europe’s leading clubs, has left Dortmund with diminishing hope that they can keep him.
But while Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke admitted such a feat would be difficult, he has not given up on keeping the star striker.
“Of course, it will be difficult. I am not saying, however, that it is completely out of the question,” he told newspaper Welt am Sonntag.
“We’ll do everything we can to keep our top players loyal to us in the future.”