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Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland is set to have a huge wooden sculpture erected in his honour near his home town in Norway.
At the age of just 21, Haaland has already become of the most highly-rated players in world football after scoring an incredible 85 goals in 87 games for Dortmund since joining the German giants from Red Bull Salzburg in 2020.
A number of Europe's top clubs have been linked with the striker, who has reportedly agreed terms on a move to Manchester City this summer.
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In recognition of his achievements, Haaland is now set to receive one of the greatest honours bestowed on a footballer; a dodgy sculpture that vaguely resembles them.
Norwegian artist Kjetil Barane is using a chainsaw to design the sculpture, which when completed will stand in Ålgård – close to Haaland’s home district of Jæren in southern Norway.
It is set to weigh more than 700kgs and will stand over three metres tall.
"It is a great honour for me to be allowed to make him as a sculpture, it's really tough," Barane told Norwegian outlet NRK.
"It is very nice to work with wood. You can see that it bursts and lives, it gets its own character," Barane added, pointing to cracks in the wood on the striker's head.
The sculpture, which when finished will show Haaland standing on a pile of trophies, was commissioned by a local businessman Tore Sivertsen.
Haaland joins a select group of players to have a statue erected in their home town, joining the likes of Michael Essien, Mohamed Salah and Luis Suarez.
In neighbouring Sweden, a statue of Zlatan Ibrahmovic was unveiled in Malmo in 2017 but has since been targeted by a vandals on a number of occasions.
Perhaps the most famous football statue of recent years is the infamous bust of Cristiano Ronaldo, unveiled at Madeira International Airport in 2017.
The sculpture was widely mocked for a lack of resemblance to the Portugal international.
Let's hope Haaland's receives a better reception.
Topics: Erling Haaland, Borussia Dortmund, Football, Norway
Rory O'Callaghan