Borussia Dortmund to repeat Lewandowski stance with Haaland as Watzke rules out summer sale

Borussia Dortmund will be adopting the same stance with Erling Haaland that they once took with Robert Lewandowski, with Hans-Joachim Watzke ruling out a summer sale.

Interest in a prolific Norwegian frontman is building ahead of the next transfer window, with the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester City all said to be keen.

Dortmund do, however, boast history when it comes to fending off interest in top talents - having ignored advances for the likes of Lewandowski and Jadon Sancho in the past - and will not be entertaining offers for a prized asset.

What has been said?

Dortmund CEO Watzke has told Sport1 after seeing Haaland's agent, Mino Raiola, suggest that a deal could soon be done: "I’ve known Mino for a long time and get along well with him. 

"You have to accept his idiosyncrasies. But he also knows the idiosyncrasies of Borussia Dortmund. 

"He can give a new interview every day for all I care. It’s no problem for us. Erling Haaland will remain a BVB player next year."

Do Dortmund need to sell?

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Champions League football for 2021-22 is yet to be secured by BVB, with a standing outside of the Bundesliga's top-four being filled at present.

Missing out on elite European competition would make life difficult for Dortmund and their bid to keep key men in a squad about to be inherited by Marco Rose.

Watzke, though, remains convinced that Haaland is fully committed to the cause.

The talented 20-year-old has hit 37 goals this season, but Lewandowski was prevented from heading through the exits after establishing a similar reputation and history is about to repeat itself.

Watzke added on Haaland, who cheered his team-mates to victory over Holstein Kiel in the DFB-Pokal semi-finals on Saturday: "He’s not letting anything get to him and he’s going full throttle. 

"The way he was cheering along in the stands shows how much he identifies with his team.

"There was also a conflict of interest with Robert Lewandowski back then. We stood firm and Robert accepted that. In the following season, he became the top scorer. I think Erling can do the same."

Lewandowski spent four seasons with Dortmund between 2010 and 2014 before eventually leaving as a free agent to link up with domestic rivals Bayern Munich.

Further reading

• Does Haaland have a release clause & who could he join?
• Haaland €35m wage demands pricing out Barca and Real
• Scholes raises Man Utd fear in 'perfect' Haaland pursuit