Koeman addresses Haaland to Barcelona transfer rumours

Ronald Koeman has addressed the ongoing rumours of a potential transfer to Barcelona for Erling Haaland. 

Barca are one of several top European clubs being linked with a summer swoop for Haaland, who has been in prolific form for Borussia Dortmund this season.

Koeman was asked to weigh in on the speculation ahead of his side's Liga clash with Real Sociedad this weekend, but gave nothing away with regards to the possibility of the Norwegian moving to Camp Nou in the near future.

What's been said?

"Haaland? This is not a time to talk about a player who is not ours out of respect for his club," the Barca boss told a press conference.

"There is talk of signings but I don't like it and I need to focus on tomorrow's game and the players we have.

"We'll talk in the next few weeks on where we can improve but I will not respond to players who are not ours."

Who else is in the market for Haaland?

A number of potential next destinations have been mooted for Haaland as his stock continues to rise with each passing game.

Bayern Munich have been tipped to try and lure the Norway international away from Westfalenstadion, while Italian giants Juventus have also been credited with an interest in his services.

Premier League trio Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea have also reportedly identified Haaland as a target, along with French champions Paris Saint-Germain.

However, recent reports in Spain have suggested that the 20-year-old's preference would be to join Real Madrid, who could engage in a bidding war with arch-rivals Barca when the market reopens.

Haaland's record in 2020-21 & market value

Haaland is in such high demand because of the staggering numbers he is producing at Dortmund this season across both domestic and European fronts.

The talented young frontman has hit 31 goals in 30 games across all competitions to date, including 19 in the Bundesliga and 10 in the Champions League.

It has been reported that Dortmund now value Haaland in excess of €80 million (£69m/$95m), meaning if they were to sell him in the summer they could make a €60m (£52m/$72m) profit on the player they signed from Red Bull Salzburg in January 2020.

What else did Koeman say?

Koeman's first year at Camp Nou has had plenty of ups and downs, but signs of progress have been shown recently which suggest that Barca can finish the campaign with a bang.

The Blaugrana have closed the gap on Liga leaders Atletico Madrid to just four points, and have also booked their place in the Copa del Rey final.

Koeman has played down talk of a domestic double, though, insisting Barca will focus on one game at a time amid a congested fixture list.

"On the one hand, I don't like to talk about a double. This changes very quickly. A long time ago we were bad and there was nothing good," he said.

"We have to keep working, game by game. We are four points behind, there is a very difficult schedule. There is a long way to go to win a lot."

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