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RB Salzburg sporting director Christoph Freund has said that Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland will end up at Liverpool in an interview with Sky Sports.
Erling Haaland started his career at his hometown club, Bryne, in 2016, and moved to Molde the next year. He spent two years at the club before signing with Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg in January 2019.
With Salzburg, Erling Haaland won the Austrian Bundesliga and Austrian Cup. In the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League, he became the first teenager to score in five consecutive UEFA Champions League matches.
In December 2019, Erling Haaland completed a transfer to Borussia Dortmund for a fee reported to be in the region of €20 million. He carried on his goal-scoring success in the 2019–20 Champions League campaign, becoming the second teenager to score 10 goals in the competition.
Erling Haaland has become one of the most prolific strikers in Europe, and one of the most sought after young talents. He has been linked with moves to Real Madrid, Manchester United and Liverpool in the past, and RB Salzburg sporting director Christoph Freund believes Haaland will end up at Merseyside.
RB Salzburg director believes Erling Haaland will end up at Liverpool
"That's where he will land," Freund told Sky Sports after Bayern and Germany great Lothar Matthaus suggested Liverpool as a potential destination.
"He can play for any club in the world. With his mentality, his will, with his self-confidence, he can make a mark on European football in the next ten years," said Freund.
Erling Haaland swapped Molde for Salzburg in 2018 and only made 27 appearances for the club before being prised away by Dortmund.
"It was a very long process to get Erling," Freund told Goal and Spox. "We first noticed him in 2016 at a game for the Norwegian Under-16 national team. Because it was difficult to get recordings of his games, we had it filmed," revealed Freund.
"He convinced us right from the start, so the scout contacted him and his father. It is a great advantage to be in personal contact with a talent and their guardians before any other potentially interested club. That was in 2018. He seemed very focused, intelligent and self-confident to me. He knew exactly what he wanted," Freund said.
"Erling was not only a special story in this respect. That doesn't hurt at all, it makes us proud because it's part of our philosophy," Freund added of Haaland's exit.
"The player can take the next step, we get income through a transfer, which we can invest in scouting and new talent, among other things. In addition, there is again a free place in the squad that the next talent can take. It is a confirmation for us that we are on the right path," Freund said.
Erling Haaland is currently the star of a Borussia Dortmund team that is looking to challenge Bayern Munich for the Bundesliga title this season. However, the Swede is expected to move to one of the top European clubs sooner rather than later, and it looks like Liverpool may have the upper hand in the chase for his signature.
