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4. Erling Braut Haaland, Red Bull Salzburg to Borussia Dortmund, €22.5m
While the deal for Minamino had been agreed even before the January transfer window opened, the future of his Red Bull Salzburg teammate Erling Braut Haaland was perhaps the most talked-about topic in January.
Fleet of foot, quick of mind, and with a killer instinct in front of goal, Haaland scored 17 goals in just 16 league appearances to go with his eight goals in six Champions League matches for Salzburg and had been courted by the likes of Manchester United, Juventus, Barcelona, Chelsea, in the months leading up to January.
However, the 19-year-old Norwegian eventually signed for Borussia Dortmund, putting an end to months of speculation.
His much-awaited Bundesliga debut didn’t disappoint either - a hat-trick on his first appearance against Augsburg was followed up by a brace against Koln, another against Union Berlin, and one more for good measure in the Pokal against Werder Bremen. Suddenly, paying €22.5m for a teenage striker seemed like a great idea, as Haaland has almost single-handedly brought Dortmund’s faltering title challenge back on track.
Add to that the fact that Haaland is replacing Paco Alcacer in the Dortmund squad, with the injury-prone Spaniard moving back to Spain with Villareal in a deal reportedly worth €23m, and you realise that Dortmund have actually made money on the Haaland deal and have arguably ended up with an upgrade in the striker department!
Having made most of his appearances off the bench due to a knee complaint, one can only imagine the heights Haaland will reach once fully-fit and starting regularly for Die Schwarzgelben!
