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Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen has been full of praise for Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland who has emerged as a transfer target for a the Catalan giants.
Ter Stegen told Sport1 that the talented forward has the quality to improve any team in the world despite still being two months away from celebrating his 21st birthday, as reported by Goal.
“His style of play and goal scoring is impressive. When you see videos in which he runs from the very back to the front in full sprint and hits the ball with all his might, that’s amazing,” he said. It’s pure will, you can’t train that. Either you have this will or you don’t. Haaland would make any team in the world better. But that doesn’t mean that he won’t stay in Dortmund.”
Haaland has scored 43 goals in 46 appearances for club and country so far in 2020-21 and has emerged as one of Europe’s hottest properties during his time with the Bundesliga team.
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Ter Stegen Talks Haaland Future
The chances of Barcelona landing Haaland this summer look slim given the club’s enormous debts and the fact the Norwegian will not come cheap. Dortmund has placed a huge €180 million ($212m) price tag on Haaland, according to Stephan Uersfeld and Rodri Faez at ESPN.
Ter Stegen thinks that Haaland could indeed stay at Dortmund for another season before seeking a new challenge at some point in the future.
“BVB is a very well run club at which an excellent job has been done in recent years. Why shouldn’t he stay there for another year?” he said. That would be by no means a step backwards. If he leaves, his new team would have an amazing striker for the next 10 years.”
Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl has insisted that Haaland will play for the club next season and is going nowhere for now, as reported by NBC Sports.
“I understand that Erling Haaland will play for Borussia Dortmund in the new season. Erling totally agrees,” he said. “I see him every day and I can say that he completely identifies with the club.”
Barcelona Youngsters Praised By Ter Stegen
Haaland is not the only young player to have drawn praise from the Barcelona goalkeeper. The Germany international also spoke about some of the youngsters who have impressed at the Camp Nou this season.
Players such as Pedri, Oscar Mingueza, Sergino Dest, and Ronald Araujo have all featured regularly under coach Ronald Koeman, and Ter Stegen spoke about what it’s like to have the youngsters in the team.
“It is remarkable that the boys are already playing at a top level at this age. Pedri has been playing almost every game for weeks. It’s crazy for a young guy like that. The boys have more energy than us older players,” he said. “If you ask them how they’re doing the day after a game, they’ll say, ‘Great. Come on, let’s play outside!’ A development has already taken place. If we go back a few years, young talents like Götze were exception. It’s different today.”
Koeman’s young team has already lifted one trophy this season, beating Athletic 4-0 to claim the Copa del Rey in April. The league title is also still up for grabs ahead of the last four games, with Barca up against leaders Atletico Madrid on Saturday.
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