Borussia Dortmund made one of the splashes of this winter’s soccer transfer window after acquiring the rights to striker Erling Haaland from Red Bull Salzburg for a fee of $22 million.
One of the most sought-after young names in Europe, Haaland chose to make the move to Germany and one of Europe’s most highly-regarded clubs due to their skill for developing young talent.
It appears that this move, so far, is working out brilliantly.
Haaland made his Dortmund debut on January 18th, coming on as a substitute in a Bundesliga matchup at FC Augsburg. With his team losing 3-1, the young Norwegian striker scored a stunning hat trick to lift his team to a 5-3 victory.
The 19-year-old is a soccer wunderkind, having scored 31 goals in only 23 games this season. What’s most impressive is the skill that he has shown for scoring goals against top teams, having netted eight goals in the Champions League group stage in 6 games with Red Bull Salzburg this year.
With Borussia Dortmund in fourth place in the German top flight, 7 points off of leaders RB Leipzig, and still alive in the Champions League group stage, Haaland is set to help this team in a big way in the short-term. Dortmund’s Bundesliga title hopes probably depend upon his ability to improve the team, and their chances to upset Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League knockout stage have improved drastically since signing him.
Haaland is a special talent in soccer, and at only 19, he has set himself up to be able to help Dortmund for years to come. The squad is full of young attacking talent such as Jadon Sancho, Julian Brandt, and Giovanni Reyna, and will very likely become one of the continent’s most dangerous attacking sides over the next few seasons.
This puts Borussia Dortmund in a unique position to become one of European soccer’s most dominant squads in the near future. While they still probably need a bit more experience to compete for Champions League glory, it’s easy to see them becoming perennial kings of the Bundesliga and threats to take home soccer’s biggest title.
Haaland’s goal-scoring ability as a striker perfectly complements the rest of Borussia Dortmund’s attacking talent, and the team’s decision to sign him for a very reasonable price was the biggest win in this year’s winter transfer window.
Fans of the Black & Yellow should rejoice as Haaland and the rest of their team’s young talent leads them to future glory.
