Borussia Dortmund 'replace' Erling Haaland with forgotten Premier League striker who didn't score a goal

Borussia Dortmund have confirmed the signing of Anthony Modeste - who you may have forgotten about after a loan spell in the Premier League ten years ago.

The Bundesliga giants sold Erling Haaland to Manchester City earlier in the transfer window and have gone about bolstering their frontline.

Dortmund signed Karim Adeyemi from RB Salzburg back in May but he's expected to play out wide more often than centrally.

Two months later, they announced a £30 million deal for Ajax forward Sebastien Haller who is a more traditional target man.

Haller was diagnosed with a malignant testicular tumour weeks later however and the Ivory Coast will be out of action for several months while undergoing chemotherapy.

Official, confirmed. Anthony Modeste joins Borussia Dortmund on deal valid until June 2023. 🟡⚫️🤝 #BVB

“Against the background of Sébastien Haller's illness, we are glad that we were able to add such a striker to our squad”, director Kehl said. pic.twitter.com/mkYuN1rz0Q

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 8, 2022

Modeste has been drafted in as a short-term option while Haller is unavailable and it could prove to be a shrewd signing at £4.8 million.

The 34-year-old scored 20 goals for Koln in the Bundesliga last season, placing him fourth in the Golden Boot standings behind winner Robert Lewandowski, Patrik Schick and Haaland.

What most of you won't remember is Modeste's time in England with Blackburn Rovers.

He joined Blackburn in January 2012 on a six-month loan from Bordeaux and they were in the midst of a heated relegation battle.

Modeste didn't score a single goal and he was sent off in a 3-0 defeat to West Bromwich Albion in April, which made Premier League survival nigh on impossible.

Blackburn would go down the following month and they're yet to make a return to the English top-flight.

From there, Modeste had a solid season on loan with Bastia in Ligue 1 and he sealed a permanent move to Hoffenheim in 2013.

In 2015, he joined Koln and scored 79 goals in 156 appearances across two spells with the club. He spent the 17/18 season with Chinese Super League outfit Tianjin Tianhai before returning to Koln a year later.

Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl said: "We made a conscious decision after analysing the past season to sign a more classic striker who gives our offensive game a certain physicality, who’s good at heading the ball and a goal threat.

"Against the background of Haller's illness, we are happy that we were able to add such a striker to our squad at short notice with Modeste for the current season.

"A seasoned professional who knows the Bundesliga very well, who scored 20 goals last season and who with his profile can take on exactly the role that our coach Edin Terzic envisions for BVB football."