MY ACCOUNT
Bayern Munich signing Erling Haaland “doesn’t make any sense” for sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic because they have Robert Lewandowski.
Haaland is believed to be available for €75million due to a clause in his Borussia Dortmund contract and is set leave in one of the upcoming off-season’s major transfers.
The Norway international has scored 82 goals and supplied 19 assists in 86 appearances in all competitions for Dortmund since making his debut on January 18, 2020. He has averaged 1.1 goals per 90 minutes, a record that is only bettered by Bayern striker Lewandowski (1.2) among players in the top five European leagues.
Haaland has been touted as a potential replacement for Lewandowski, who Bayern were said to be open to offers for with his contract expiring at the end of next season.
However, Lewandowski leaving the Allianz Arena at the end of the campaign has been ruled out by Salihamidzic, who therefore sees no reason to pursue Haaland.
“It doesn’t make any sense,” Salihamidzic said when asked on Sky90 about Bayern moving for Haaland.
“We have the best striker in the world. We have Lewandowski.”
Asked if there was any player Bayern would break the bank for, Salihamidzic replied: “That’s up to the supervisory board. But we don’t want to put the club at risk. That will continue to be our philosophy in the future.
“Of course, after the Champions League win it would’ve been great to keep all the players – like [Philippe] Coutinho and [Ivan] Perisic – but we can’t ruin the club financially. We can’t do squad planning like that.
“We have a philosophy at the club. We have 14 top players in the squad and a number of top talents we want to develop. We don’t have the money for 20 top players like in England.”
One player who could be heading to Munich for next season is Ajax midfielder Ryan Gravenberch, though Bayern are yet to agree to reported demands of a €30million fee.
“He is a good player. We’re in talks, I can say that much,” Salihamidzic revealed.
“With a transfer like this, a lot has to go right. I can’t say [how it is looking]. It’s difficult, like all transfers.”
Salihamidzic is also expecting to see more from Leroy Sane, who has failed to score or assist in his past eight appearances in all competitions for Bayern.
“He’s an incredibly talented young man who has everything. He’s super fast, he can dribble and has this mental strength. But he has to deliver now,” he said.
“When he’s showing good body language, that’s good, but if he doesn’t, that’s not good. I don’t want to see this. I spoke to him about it.
“He has potential, but I want to see that on the pitch. We spoke several times. The people in charge, the coach, the players, everyone expects him to explode on the pitch. It’s hard to say why he’s not performing as expected. He’s listening well. I hope he’ll do it.”
