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Erling Haaland’s final destination this summer is set to become the major talking point of the transfer window and Borussia Dortmund will be desperate to keep hold of their star striker.
But the German giants have a habit of selling their best talents, and to their credit they often manage to fill the voids in a competent fashion.
So if Haaland does end up at Manchester City, Real Madrid or even Chelsea in a few months time, Dortmund’s eagled eyed scouts will have already identified his replacement.
Early suggestions seem to indicate that the man to replace Haaland could be Sasa Kalajdzic – but who is he and does he have what it takes to fill such big shoes?
VfB Stuttgart’s Sasa Kalajdzic has been linked with a summer move to Borussia Dortmund
Who is he?
Not quite bursting on to the scene but his progress since turning professional five years ago has been impressive.
Kalajdzic was born in Vienna and is of Serbian descent. The 23-year-old started his career at Austrian top flight side Admira Wacker Modling.
After two years of regular appearances in Austria he joined Stuttgart in 2019 and has emerged as one of their key players in a dramatic upturn in fortunes for the club.
The Bundesliga side are enjoying a strong season as they challenge for a Europa League spot next term, and Kalajdzic’s 13 goals from 26 league matches (14 from 29 in total) have gone a long way to his side’s success following their promotion from the second tier.
The Stuttgart striker has rattled in an impressive 13 goals from 26 Bundesliga games this term
Any international pedigree?
Kalajdzic has stayed faithful to the land of his birth and earned six Under 21 caps for Austria between 2017-19.
His excellent form for Stuttgart though saw him promoted to the senior team late last year for his debut and he has played a further three times since.
Last month saw him net his first three goals at senior level, including a brace against Scotland and another against the Faroe Islands in World Cup qualifiers.
With Austria having qualified for the European Championship this summer, you can expect to see the striker spearheading their attack when they come up against Holland, Ukraine and North Macedonia in their group.
The 23-year-old has been capped for Austria, scoring twice against Scotland back in March
What is his style of play?
Standing in at two meters (6ft 7in in old money), Kalajdzic could be seen as a target man given that he makes good use of his height with regular goals coming from headers.
But there is more to his game than just pumping the ball long to him and hoping for the best. He actually started his career as a midfielder and this experience has helped him develop technical skills to match his aerial threat. That’s quite a combination.
He drew inspiration from Manchester United’s Nemanja Matic who he has called ‘an idol’ and based his game around while starting out as a professional.
In attack he is supremely effective in holding up the ball and naturally at his height is a huge threat when it comes to set-pieces.
Standing at two meters, Kalajdzic is a serious threat in the air and has excellent heading ability
He drew inspiration from Man Utd midfielder Nemanja Matic (R) at the beginning of his career
Who has he been compared to?
His aerial threat and technical skills have seen him mostly compared to former England international Peter Crouch, a likeliness that even Kalajdzic thinks is a very good example.
Over in the mainland continent he has also been tipped to become the ‘next Mario Gomez’ after the former Germany, Stuttgart and Bayern Munich striker.
Nicknames and tropes such as ‘tall and lanky’ have been thrown at him but he claims he has also been described as an ‘Ibrahimovic-machine’ in relation to the maverick AC Milan veteran.
His threats both in the air and on the ball have drawn wide comparison with Peter Crouch
But he has also been described as an Ibrahimovic-machine like the AC Milan striker (left) as well as the next Mario Gomez (right) after the former Germany forward
Has he suffered any setbacks?
Any potential suitors will be a tiny bit alarmed by him missing the vast majority of the 2019-20 season due to a torn cruciate ligament he suffered in pre-season, shortly after signing for Stuttgart.
He was still not 100 per cent coming into this season, despite netting in his first three Bundesliga games.
Struggling to fully adapt to the top flight he only scored in one more game up until the end of January when across 18 league games he had also only completed 90 minutes twice.
However he now appears to be finding fitness and confidence having scored eight goals in his last nine games for Stuttgart.
Kalajdzic has enjoyed an excellent first season in the Bundesliga – graphic from SofaScore
Who is interested?
Looking for a potential replacement for Haaland, Borussia Dortmund have not been the only team who have been tracking his career.
Since selling Sebastien Haller in the January transfer window, West Ham have also been looking at the striker as a potential replacement.
Fellow Premier League sides Crystal Palace, Brighton and Leeds United have also tracked him in the past, while the likes of Roma, Red Bull Salzburg and RB Leipzig have shown previous interest, although his reputation has gone up since then.
Stuttgart would have been tempted to sell Kalajdzic for £15million back in January but his 2021 form coupled with Dortmund’s interest will have closed the door on that bargain deal.
Borussia Dortmund could see Kalajdzic as a potential replacement for Erling Haaland (above)
What’s been said?
Despite all the clubs he has been linked with, it is Liverpool who Kalajdzic most wants to play for.
Watching the Reds win the Champions League final against AC Milan in 2005 led to him growing to love the club which he admits to having attended games as a fan.
He told German outlet Bild: ‘I feel completely at home at Stuttgart, but it would be a really tough decision because I really like Liverpool.
‘This club is simply special to me. When I was a kid, I saw the Champions League final in 2005 when Liverpool came back from 3-0 down against Milan to win. That gripped me.
‘The last time I went to a Liverpool game with my brother, I really kitted myself out: I bought myself a scarf, jersey, cap and a mug.’
His international manager Franco Foda has been very impressed by his rate of improvement this term, claiming his March form has left him with a managerial headache trying to pick his strikers this summer.
Kalajdzic though would love to play for Liverpool having followed them while growing up
His international manager Franco Foda has been impressed with his early Austria career
‘He has developed extremely well in the last few weeks and months and has taken the momentum with him,’ the Austria boss said.
‘In the beginning, you have always noticed what qualities he has, but now he has also been playing in front of goal, where a striker has to be.’
‘He has good anticipation in the penalty area. It was no coincidence that he scored these goals [in the World Cup qualifiers].
‘We are obviously delighted that we now have more alternatives and a striker who scores. It’s all the better for a coach, when he is spoiled for choice.’
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