Erling Haaland: "I felt Borussia Dortmund and me were a good match"
New Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland has revealed his reasons for joining the club in the winter transfer window, saying he felt during negotiations that it was "a good match".
The 19-year-old made a name for himself in the first half of the current season with Red Bull Salzburg, smashing in 28 goals from 22 outings in all competitions to prompt a host of top European clubs to vie for his signature.
That it was Dortmund, with their reputation for playing talented youngsters in the first team, who won the race was perhaps no surprise, but Haaland says their forthright approach in getting straight to the point also helped sway him.
"The club said directly: 'we need you up front. We like your playing style and we want to have you here'," he told BVB.TV
Watch: Haaland's arrival at Dortmund
"I liked how they spoke to me then and that’s what triggered me. That’s when I felt that me and Dortmund was a good match."
The Norway international, who has two senior caps for his country so far, is currently with his new teammates at their winter training camp in Marbella and is clearly eager to show what he can do once the Bundesliga season gets underway once more.
"I’m quite a direct player - if I could choose, I’d just go straight towards the goal and score," he said. "That’s what I do best. I’m a guy who works hard, who loves scoring goals and who loves to play football.
"I also want people to see what kind of player I am. I don’t want to talk too much; I want people to see how I am… and then they will see!"
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The new Dortmund No.17’s integration into the team has been aided by his new next-door neighbour in the changing room, Mats Hummels, and the presence of a fellow Scandinavian.
"Mats seems like a nice guy, and I also have a Danish guy there with Thomas [Delaney], so I can speak my mother language with him. He’s also a good guy, but I think they all are. It seems like a very relaxed atmosphere in the group and I like it so far."
And, for fans unfamiliar with the Norwegian language, Haaland also gave a couple of tips on how to pronounce his name: "You can say it however you want. In Norway, two As are pronounced as an ‘O’, but we’re not in Norway now. I like 'Haaland' more to be honest!"
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