'Only Chelsea': Liverpool legend thinks Klopp will miss out on £68m star

Haaland liverpool real madrid — Photo by INA FASSBENDER/AFP via Getty Images

Former Liverpool hero John Arne Riise believes that the Premier League giants will struggle to finance a deal for Borussia Dortmund’s Bundesliga superstar Erling Braut Haaland, as he told talkSPORT (10 November, 9:00am).

After a summer window which saw Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United splash out £100 million, £97 million and £73 million respectively on marquee attacking signings (Jack Grealish, Romelu Lukaku and Jadon Sancho), Jurgen Klopp indicated that Liverpool were in no position to compete with their big-spending top-flight rivals in the transfer market (Daily Mail).

With that in mind, can Anfield be considered a realistic destination for a man who could conceivably be named the most sought after footballer on planet earth?

It is no secret that Haaland has a £68 million release clause in his Borussia Dortmund contract.

Coupled with his rumoured wage demands of £30 million-a-year (£575,000-a-week), Riise feels that Liverpool are up against it if they want to bring one of the hottest strikers in Europe to Merseyside (ESPN).

Is Dortmund’s Erling Haaland too expensive for Liverpool?

“In the Premier League, I can only see maybe Manchester City and Chelsea being able to afford him,” said Riise, a 2005 Champions League winner who, like Haaland, represented the Norwegian national team.

“But then again, is salary that important to him? He’s going to earn a lot anyway.

haaland — Photo by Rico Brouwer/Soccrates/Getty Images

“The only chance I can see him at Liverpool is if the salary (demand) goes down.

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“When it comes to his agent and the numbers I’m reading now, I can only see City or Chelsea in the Premier League.”

Haaland has plundered a remarkable 70 goals in 69 games since joining Dortmund from Red Bull Salzburg two years ago, with Klopp describing an ‘extraordinary’ footballer as a ‘force of nature’ (Mail).

Former Germany international Stefan Effenberg, however, sees things differently to Riise, highlighting the fact that a classic number nine like Haaland would add a completely new dimension to Klopp’s already fearsome Liverpool frontline.