Borussia Dortmund director Sebastien Kehl has denied the striker’s claims that the club are putting pressure on him to decide his future.
Haaland recently spoke out about what he described as ‘a lot of pressure‘ from Dortmund to decide his future, admitting his concern at not being able to simply focus on his football because of that.
Club executive Hans-Joachim Watzke did his best to downplay the comments and cool the tension between the two parties, and now Kehl has suggested nothing has changed whatsoever in regards to their discussions with Haaland.
“I was surprised by what Erling said after the game,” Kehl told Sport1. “It is clear that his comments have caused an uproar. There is no decision yet. I’ll take the opportunity in the next few days to ask what is bothering him and why he felt the need to talk about pressure after the game because I don’t see things that way.
“We can’t forget that the boy is 21 years old and the media are fuelling the topic every day. Basically, it’s clear that at some point that the player will get sick of it and will say he’s pissed off and that he doesn’t want to hear the topic all the time and that he just wants to play football.
“There is no ultimatum. Erling has become an extreme personality in the club. He’s so important to us and we must be able to plan with certainty because of that. You have to clarify with him personally as he might see that as pressure.
“From our point of view, there has been no pressure. No talks have been held in the last few days and we haven’t had talks for a while.”
Haaland‘s current contract has a release clause worth around £63m – significantly below his true value – and the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester City and Chelsea are keeping a very close eye on the situation.
Dortmund are keen to keep Haaland and have offered him the chance to become their highest-paid player ever, but he is yet to respond and is keen to keep all his options open for the time being.
This article was originally published on 90min as Dortmund sporting director denies pressuring Erling Haaland over future.
Source: www.90min.com