The former Norway international believes a fellow countryman generating plenty of transfer talk will bid farewell to Germany at some stage
Erling Haaland is a striker in the Gary Lineker mould, says former Norway international Jan Age Fjortoft, with the Borussia Dortmund star being backed to end up in the Premier League at some stage.
The 19-year-old passed up the chance to head for England when making his way through the exits at Red Bull Salzburg in January.
Manchester United had identified the prolific frontman as a top target, but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was unable to talk his fellow countryman into joining him at Old Trafford.
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Dortmund are now the ones benefiting from Haaland’s remarkable predatory instincts – with over 40 goals recorded this season – but Fjortoft believes more big-money moves are in the pipeline.
He told The Sun of one of Europe’s hottest prospects: “Haaland has been the sensation of the season.
“Throughout his career, along with father Alf-Inge, he has been thinking of his development and what was the best arena for that.
“Right from the start, when I saw him score four for Molde against Bergen, I could see he had unbelievable movement and the eye of the tiger, a real hunger for goals.
“Juventus offered him a fantastic contract and there were lots of other clubs mentioned, but he chose Salzburg for his next stage.
“People see his goals, strength and enormous speed but what I noticed was how wise he is in creating space for himself.
“When I was younger I remember watching Gary Lineker. I couldn’t understand how one of the best strikers of that generation was always in so much room that he got the ball unmarked in front of goal.
“I spent hours watching videos, pressing rewind and fast forward trying to understand his runs. It’s a real skill that you shouldn’t underestimate and Erling has it as well.
“Dortmund was the perfect club for the next stage of his career, with that famous Yellow Wall and 81,000 fans at every home game.
“They have a tradition of taking good players and making them great, doing it with Aubameyang, Lewandowski, Mkhitaryan and Dembele. Now they are doing it with Haaland and Sancho.
“Erling enables them to stretch the game and that has given their technical players even more space.
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“I know he wants to learn from everything. He is trying to do the right things. As far as I’m concerned he’s a kid with a great attitude, loved by his team-mates and not at all selfish on the pitch. That’s not always typical for somebody with so much talent.
“There’s one other thing. He was born in Leeds and his father played for two Premier League clubs, so he will end up in England one day.”
United can be expected to retain their interest in Haaland, but the Red Devils are likely to face competition for a prized signature in upcoming windows as La Liga giants Real Madrid have made it clear that they would also welcome the opportunity to buy into such potential.
