Jurgen Klopp comments on Erling Haaland transfer rumors, Germany’s chances at the World Cup

In addition to Bayern Munich, Erling Haaland has been linked with top European clubs aboard, including Real Madrid, Manchester City and even Liverpool. Without a trace of doubt, he’s currently one of the most sought after striker’s on the market and his contract at Borussia Dortmund is set to expire the summer of 2024, so the club faces a crucial window in terms of offloading for max profitability.

As far as being able to afford him and Haaland’s supposed preference to going to the Premier League, Manchester City is the most realistic destination. He’s been linked with Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool, especially since Roberto Firmino’s contract is set to expire this summer. Of course, Diogo Jota has been working wonders as a false 9, but in a recent interview with Sport Bild, Klopp quelled any suggestions that Liverpool would splash exorbitant amounts of cash to land the towering Norwegian.

“We don’t go there. The numbers that are in the room are crazy — we have nothing to do with them. No chance! To be honest, I don’t want that at all. That’s not fun,” Klopp said when he was asked whether or not Liverpool would seriously consider a move for Haaland, which would costly upwards of a total package of 350 million euros after add-ons. At City, Pep Guardiola does not have a natural, outright striker, so Haaland would be that final puzzle piece and they could afford him. It remains to be seen, though, if they’d have enough leverage to convince him to go to the Etihad instead of Real Madrid.

In the World Cup draw last week, Germany was drawn to Group E along with Spain, Japan, and the winner of the playoff qualifier between Costa Rica and New Zealand that’s slated to take place this June. While it wasn’t the most favorable draw for Die Mannschaft, on paper, there is absolutely no reason that they shouldn’t progress out of the group and onto the knockout stages. Anything less after World Cup 2018 in Russia would be a massive failure.

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Klopp shares the sentiment that Germany should be able to navigate their way out of group E and onto the knockout stages. “It wasn’t a lucky draw, but it’s doable to progress. You are doing well! I like how Germany is playing at the moment. The way Hansi Flick portrays it is really cool. They have a good group with a good age structure. That looks interesting. You have to find your way into a tournament like this, bite into it and fight for it. If they can do that, then of course something works. There are other big favorites at the moment that might be mentioned first. But that’s not a bad situation either,” he explained.