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Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland has picked Virgil van Dijk, Sergio Ramos and Kalidou Koulibaly as the three best centre-backs in the world.
Haaland is one of the brightest young stars in world football at the moment. The youngster has made a name for himself since impressing with Austrian side RB Salzburg in the 2019-20 season.
Speaking to Norwegian outlet VG, via SportsMole, Haaland said:
"The best [centre-backs] are Sergio Ramos, [Virgil] Van Dijk and [Kalidou] Koulibaly. All three are very physical, but also very intelligent on the pitch."
Haaland moved from RB Salzburg to Borussia Dortmund in January 2020 and has been a shining light for the Black and Yellow. The Norwegian has already scored 17 goals for Dortmund this season.
Van Dijk, Koulibaly among top three centre-backs named by Erling Haaland
Erling Haaland faced both van Dijk and Koulibaly in the UEFA Champions League last season. RB Salzburg were drawn into the same group as Liverpool and Napoli.
Haaland scored at Anfield, as Salzburg produced a stirring second-half display to tie the game at 3-3 after being 3-0 down. However, they eventually went down 4-3 at the end of the game.
He also scored three times against Napoli, twice in a 3-2 loss at home, and once in a 1-1 draw at Naples.
Haaland also played against Sergio Ramos as part of the Norway squad that faced Spain in UEFA EURO 2020 qualifiers in 2019. Haaland also spoke highly of his Norwegian counterpart Martin Odegaard, in an interview with Marca.
Despite arriving at Dortmund less than a year ago, Haaland has been linked with moves away from the German club. Chelsea are reportedly interested in signing him as early as the upcoming January transfer window.
Haaland has a £68m release clause in his contract with Borussia Dortmund, but that will only kick in for the 2022 summer transfer window.
If Chelsea are to sign Erling Haaland before that, they will have to pay a premium above the release clause, whether that is in January, or the summer of 2021. The Norwegian striker has also been linked with moves to Real Madrid and Manchester City in recent months.
