Erling Haaland is a phenomenon. No other word seems suitable. He has 74 goals in 73 appearances for Borussia Dortmund. And he’s only 21 years old.
This season alone, he’s scored 11 times in nine Bundesliga games and is three from three in the Champions League.
After Monday's Europa League draw, it won’t be long before this extraordinary striker has Rangers in his sights.
Erling Haaland is a phenomenon - simply no other word seems suitable to describe him
The striker has scored 11 goals in nine Bundesliga games and is three from three in Europe
He’s six foot four inches tall. He’s aggressive, he’s quick and he goes all-out on the attack when he’s got the ball. He can finish from pretty much any angle. His goal rate is out of this world.
If you looked solely at Haaland and the numbers he generates, you could wonder if there was much point in my old club turning up for their two-legged knockout tie in February.
But this is not an impossible mission for Giovanni van Bronckhorst and his players.
This is not an impossible mission for Rangers boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst and his players
Dortmund will start as strong favourites to reach the last 16, just about everyone would agree on that, but Rangers have a chance of upsetting the odds if they can continue to build on the impressive organisation and intelligence witnessed during Van Bronckhorst’s first six games in charge.
There are immense talents in this Dortmund team, Haaland chief among them. However, there are some points of vulnerability that have already been exposed in Europe this season.
Rangers will need to operate with almost perfect tactical discipline, particularly in the first leg at Signal Iduna Park — as the Westfalenstadion is currently known — but if they can get back to Ibrox with the tie still alive then I genuinely think anything could happen.
First things first, though. How on earth do you go about trying to stop Haaland? He is perhaps not the most elegant footballer in the world, but he is so strong and direct that he’s be able to exploit any gaps — or simply create them himself.
Dortmund will start as strong favourites to reach the last 16 - everyone would agree on that
You have to look at the supply line. Cutting it off completely will be impossible, but you have to try and channel it into areas where you feel a little more comfortable.
That’s not a job just for the centre-backs. It’s about the midfield, too. And the forwards. The communication and combination between each line of the team has to be spot-on.
It would be tremendous for Rangers if someone came and bought Haaland in January. I’m not sure how realistic that could be, given that his agent seems to talking more about a possible move next summer. But he’s clearly destined for an even bigger address than Dortmund.
He will be at one of the very biggest clubs in the world sooner rather than later.
For the time being, he’s the spearhead of Marco Rose’s team. But Rangers cannot afford to concentrate solely on Haaland when this tie comes around.
