Erling Haaland Is Headed To Manchester City, Giving Dortmund Profits To Re-Invest In Karim Adeyemi

It is finally official. Manchester City has signed Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund. The Norwegian striker has signed a deal until 2027. Dortmund announced on the stock exchange a profit of up to €40 million ($42m). A large part of that sum has been immediately re-invested in Red Bull Salzburg forward Karim Adeyemi—the national team striker joined in a deal worth around $33 million. Approximately $7 million went to his former youth side, Unterhaching.

“The player Erling Haaland (“player”) is on the verge of leaving Borussia Dortmund GmbH & Co. KGaA (“BVB
VB
”) for Manchester City Football Club Limited (“Manchester City”),” Dortmund’s ad-hoc statement read. “All parties have agreed on principle on a deal, and all contractual obligations are to coordinate and to document.”

Neither club was willing to release additional quotes on the Haaland transaction, a transfer that one day will likely just remain a small stepping stone in the Norwegian’s thoroughly planned career.

That, of course, also raises the question of what will remain of Haaland’s time in Dortmund. Overall, the 85 goals in 88 games and the DFB Pokal victory in 2021 will stick out. But on balance, too much of Haaland’s time in Germany was overshadowed by the pandemic, and football played behind closed doors.

Although it will be interesting to see the reaction by fans this upcoming weekend against Hertha, there never was a sense that fans were truly upset about Haaland’s decision to leave the club after just two and a half seasons. There simply was also never any time for Dortmund fans to get attached to Haaland.

That, in turn, would also explain the emotionless goodbye by Dortmund’s social media accounts. Other than the ad-hoc statement, Dortmund remained silent on the impending transfer.

Instead, all the focus was given to new signing Adeyemi, who was announced as the club’s new striker today. Adeyemi is not a one-for-one Haaland replacement, and Dortmund will likely look to bring in a new number 9, but the 20-year-old German national team forward is the big-name signing that fans will be looking for to fill the void the Norwegian has left.

“Karim Adeyemi is a highly talented, young German international who, through his strong finishing and incredible pace, will make a valuable addition to our attacking play,” BVB sporting director Michael Zorc said in a club statement. “After the transfers of Niklas Süle and Nico Schlotterbeck, we are getting another very exciting player for next season with Karim Adeyemi. What is more, he is someone who has a strong affinity for BVB, who supported the Black and Yellows as a youngster, and who decided to sign for Borussia Dortmund amidst several offers from Europe’s top leagues.”

The last part of the statement is telling. Adeyemi, who was also considered by Manchester United and Bayern Munich, identifies strongly with Borussia Dortmund. The forward will also bring a paradigm shift to Dortmund—head coach Marco Rose wants to make the team more flexible in attack, faster, and less reliant on a single player, as was the case with Haaland in the squad.

“As a young boy, I was fascinated by the Black and Yellows’ fast-paced football,” Adeyemi said at his presentation. With Haaland gone, Adeyemi will now be the cornerstone of that style of football but make no mistake; the 20-year-old can only be a part of the solution.

Manuel Veth is the host of the Bundesliga Gegenpressing Podcast and the Area Manager USA at Transfermarkt. He has also been published in the Guardian, Newsweek, Howler, Pro Soccer USA, and several other outlets. Follow him on Twitter: @ManuelVeth