Sancho to Man Utd? Haaland to Madrid? No reason for pair to leave Dortmund – Langerak

Borussia Dortmund team-mates Jadon Sancho (L) and Erling Haaland (R)

Former Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper Mitch Langerak said there is "absolutely no reason" why Jadon Sancho and Erling Haaland should leave the Bundesliga side.

Sancho has been tipped to join Premier League giants Manchester United, while the Dortmund star is also reportedly wanted by Chelsea, Liverpool and Barcelona.

Haaland – who only arrived at Dortmund from Salzburg in January – is apparently coveted by LaLiga powerhouse Real Madrid following his stunning start to life at Signal Iduna Park.

Langerak spent five years at Dortmund, winning two Bundesliga titles among other honours under Jurgen Klopp, and the Australia international believes there is plenty of time for Sancho and Haaland to eventually move on – pointing to the examples of Robert Lewandowski and Ilkay Gundogan.

"There's absolutely no reason why any of them should leave," Langerak, who now plays for Japanese side Nagoya Grampus, told Stats Perform. 

"For example, Lewandowski left Dortmund [in 2014] at around 24-25. [He was] smashing it at Dortmund and he's been smashing it at Bayern Munich. Went there as the absolute starting striker. The same as Gundogan. He came at 21 and left at 24-25 [in 2016]. Went to Manchester City and he's killing it.

"There's no rush for those guys to leave when they have the perfect situation. Haaland could go 10 games without a goal and the fans would celebrate him like no tomorrow. They'll never get on his back or criticise him.

"It's the perfect scenario where he has the blessing or support of the whole club and city. It's sort of engrained in Dortmund's tradition to have good, young, hungry players. 

"When the time is right, maybe they will leave, but I don't see why they should when they'll be playing Champions League regularly, hopefully advancing to the latter stages, and pushing for Bundesliga titles. There's only a handful of clubs who are bigger and better than Dortmund."

There is also uncertainty over Mario Gotze's future at Dortmund, where the 27-year-old German is out of contract at the end of the season.

World Cup winner Gotze, who managed just 502 minutes of Bundesliga action prior to the coronavirus pandemic, has been linked to Serie A sides Milan, Roma and Lazio.

"Mario is a really good friend of mine. He was my very first room-mate when I arrived at Dortmund [from Melbourne Victory in 2010]. He is a fantastic, fantastic guy," Langerak said.

"The most professional player – he is up there with Lewandowski in terms of professionalism. It's really good to see two of the absolute players in their prime and they're the most professional, doing the extra work.

"It's difficult for him now. Hopefully he can find a good solution, whatever that might be. I don't think it's been ruled out that he won't stay at Dortmund. That's how it goes with different coaches, systems and players – things change fast. 

"It could be that Mario starts the next couple of games, does well again and the world looks completely different for him. Whatever path he goes down in the future, I'll be following it. I'm sure he will do really well because is very humble, hardworking that wherever he goes, he will make a good impression."

Gotze may get a clearer picture of what the future holds when the Bundesliga resumes on Saturday, with Dortmund hosting bitter rivals Schalke behind closed doors amid the COVID-19 crisis.

Germany's Bundesliga was postponed in March with defending champions Bayern four points clear of Dortmund through 25 matches atop the table.

Langerak, who believes Dortmund can win the title this season, added: "It's positive the Bundesliga is getting back underway because everyone wants to watch some football. Me personally, I can't wait until it kicks off. So, I'll be all over it, like the rest of the world watching every minute.

"Behind closed doors, the atmosphere will be lacking. We played a couple of friendly games maybe two months ago in a big stadium with no fans and it really is a different atmosphere.

"It not only shows to the fans but to the players, far out, football without fans really is nothing. It's going to be a huge challenge for Bundesliga players because they won't be used it. It's a massive, massive difference.

"I can only imagine the first game back for all the players and clubs in front of full stadiums, it's going to be the biggest party and the most exciting thing."