sport news Champions League: Borussia Dortmund are in transition after losing Erling ... trends now
Borussia Dortmund will come up against their former talisman Erling Haaland for the first-time since his £51million move to Premier League champions Manchester City, as they go through a period of transition.
The Bundesliga outfit will make the trip to the Etihad Stadium to do battle with Manchester City on Wednesday evening for their second group-stage fixture, with both sides looking to build on their opening-day wins in Europe.
Pep Guardiola's City ran out 4-0 winners over Sevilla, while Dortmund eased to a 3-0 success at home to Copenhagen.
Borussia Dortmund will face Manchester City in the Champions League on Wednesday night
They will come up against their former talisman Erling Haaland who left for £51m this summer
Dortmund, of course, are missing the goals of Haaland as he notched 86 goals in 89 games during his two-year stay in Germany - while the Norwegian striker has also been in astonishing form for Pep Guardiola's side, netting 12 times in seven games across the Premier League and Champions League so far.
It is about a lot more than that for Edin Terzic's side, who appear to be going through a real transition period, having made numerous summer signings after the departure of star striker Haaland.
Not only has Haaland left, but there is plenty of speculation surrounding Jude Bellingham leaving Dortmund for either Real Madrid or Liverpool at the end of the season.
This summer, the German outfit moved to bring in the likes of Sebastien Haller, Karim Adeyemi, Nico Schlotterbeck, Anthony Modeste, Salih Ozcan, Niklas Sule, Marcel Lotka, Alexander Meyer, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens and Tom Rothe with the money amassed from the sale of Haaland.
Haller's signature from Ajax for £31million was seen as the main replacement for Haaland after he notched 34 goals in all competitions last season.
Dortmund's new £31million signing Sebastien Haller is currently undergoing chemotherapy
The former West Ham United striker was, however, diagnosed with a testicular tumour after feeling unwell during the club's pre-season tour of Switzerland in July - a major set-back for both the player and club.
Haller has since started chemotherapy and he even revealed that the first stages of his treatment have not been easy.
'The first two or three days during the hospital (visit) and two or three days after, it's not the best moment,' the 28-year-old said.
The rest of the summer signings were clearly brought in, looking ahead to the future, including striker Adeyemi and yet another England teenage sensation in the form of Bynoe-Gittens.
Like Jadon Sancho and Jude Bellingham, the Premier League’s biggest clubs are likely to be looking at Bynoe-Gittens’ progress at Borussia Dortmund and kicking themselves, as he follows in the footsteps of the two England stars.
Teenage sensation Jamie Bynoe-Gittens (pictured) has already broken into the first-team
He only just turned 18 last month, but has already notched his first goal for the German giants and signed a long-term deal.
Prior to his move to Germany he spent time in both Reading and Manchester City's academies - therefore the comparison to Sancho is strong after leaving City for a new challenge abroad.
The youngster suffered a nasty ankle injury in his first campaign at youth level in Germany, but he delivered better stats than Sancho ever managed in Dortmund’s Under-19s last season.
He was then rewarded by former first-team boss Marco Rose with a Bundesliga debut, aged 17, in a 6-1 win over Wolfsburg in April before
