Dortmund preparing to hold Haaland tight
Borussia Dortmund is planning a long-term future with star Erling Haaland as sporting director Michael Zorc dismissed ongoing transfer speculation.
Haaland has enjoyed a rapid rise to stardom, cementing his status as one of football's most lethal forwards since swapping Salzburg for Dortmund in January amid links to Real Madrid, Manchester United and Juventus.
The 20-year-old – crowned the 2020 Golden Boy winner – became the quickest player to 15 UEFa Champions League goals in the competition's history after opening the scoring in Wednesday's (AEDT) 3-0 win over Club Brugge.
Haaland finished with a brace as he took his tally to 16 through 12 games in the UEFA Champions League, surpassing Ruud van Nistelrooy and Roberto Soldado with seven matches to spare.
Norway international Haaland has 10 goals through seven Bundesliga matches this season, and 17 across all competitions in 2020-2021, including a UEFA Champions League-high six strikes.
As Haaland continues to attract interest from Europe's elite, Zorc addressed the player's future, with reports he has a €75 million ($121.6 million) release clause that is set to become active in 2022.
"I am happy when [Erling Haaland's] enthusiasm is high, because it means that he plays well for us and we have all done a good job," Zorc said ahead of Dortmund's Bundesliga fixture against Cologne on Sunday (AEDT).
"I don't have to say anything to the other managers, because of course we are planning for the long term with Erling.
"He plays well for us and he hasn't been with us that long, not even one year. In this respect, I would like to see him with us for a while yet."
Since joining Dortmund at the start of 2020, Haaland has scored 33 goals in just 31 appearances for the German giant.
Haaland has netted 23 times in just 22 Bundesliga matches for Dortmund, which is second and a point adrift of defending champion Bayern Munich through eight matchdays.
