Haaland “unfinished product”, will struggle in other leagues: Sammer

The 1996 Ballon D’or winner compared Haaland to Ousman Dembele, saying Dembele was not a “finished product” before leaving Dortmund.

BAYO OMOTOSO • March 25, 2021

Erling Haaland

German football legend Mathias Sammer has warned Borrusia Dortmund’s young sensation, Erling Haaland, not to leave the club in the summer.

Sammer, also the club’s legend described Haaland as an “unfinished product” who still needs more time with Dortmund before he can become a perfect player for transfer into bigger clubs.

The 1996 Ballon D’or winner compared Haaland to Ousman Dembele and added that Dembele was not a “finished product” before leaving Dortmund for Barcelona, a situation he claims has caused his inconsistencies.

Dembele left Dortmund for Barcelona in 2017 in a transfer deal worth €105million which marked him tying as the second most expensive footballer at the time.

Dembele has failed to live up to the expectation with Barcelona managing only 16 goals in 73 appearances for the La Liga giants. Dembele scored only once in the league for Barcelona in the 2019-2020 season.

20-year Old Erling Haaland on the other hand has scored impressive 34 goals in 36 matches for Dortmund in the ongoing season. He scored 17 goals in 16 appearances in 2019-2020 season with Salzburg.

Haaland who was bought for €20 million by Dortmund in 2019 have become the toast of all top clubs in Europe.

Manchester United, Chelsea, Real Madrid, PSG are amongst the crop of top European teams currently following his progress and planning a summer move for the Norwegian.

The Norwegian became the first teenage player to score consecutively in five matches in UEFA Champions League history in 2019-2020 season.

Haaland currently on 10 goals in UEFA Champions League this season won the Golden Boy award of the competition last season.

Sammer also compared the development of Robert Lewandowski who won the 2020 FIFA Men’s Player of the Year to Haaland. Lewandowski just like Haaland became a shining light in Dortmund before moving to Bayern Munich.

The Dortmund Legend added that Lewandowski became a success story because he waited for a couple of years to develop in Dortmund unlike Dembele who left within a year.

Haaland was the Highest goal scorer at the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

Fans of the interested top clubs and football pundits have advised Haaland to move away from Dortmund to win trophies and stand a better chance of winning the Ballon D’or.