BORUSSIA DORTMUND BOSS Lucien Favre has urged caution despite the remarkable form of teen sensation Erling Haaland.
The 19-year-old, a rumoured Man United target before joining Dortmund in the most recent transfer window, has been in scintillating form since making the move to the Bundesliga outfit from RB Salzburg.
The youngster scored his eighth goal in four games (three of which were from the bench) in Tuesday’s 3-2 DFB Pokal loss against Werder Bremen.
But despite the Norway international’s terrific recent form, Favre has emphasised the need to manage his player’s game time.
“As I said, I am the first one to [know whether to] let him play from the beginning,” he said.
“You don’t know his fitness like I do. So, we have to be careful. We have to be reasonable.
“Of course, I would like to let him play all games, but we still have to be careful with him sometimes.
He is 19 years old and I speak about the pre-season and old injuries. We have to be reasonable.”
Favre’s hand might be forced, however, given his forward line will be without Marco Reus when they travel to face Bayer Leverkusen this weekend.
“Unfortunately, Marco is injured now. It happened in the last minute. I am very sorry for him,” said Favre, with his captain set for a four-week spell on the sidelines due to a muscular complaint that will cause him to miss the Champions League showdown with Paris Saint-Germain on 18 February.
“But Marco is still very important and will be important for the team. There are several options how to replace him, but it depends on the system. Today it’s still not decided.”
Emre Can, a deadline-day arrival on an initial loan from Juventus, made a substitute cameo against Werder and could make his league debut for Dortmund against old employers Leverkusen.
“We have to see him in training, how he feels. He did not play a lot [at Juventus this season],” Favre added.
“He made a good impression yesterday. The training was very long and intense. He did very well.
“He has to show in training what he is able to do. We know he can play as a defender with a back three but also in the midfield as six or eight, also in a 4-3-3.
“We will see because right now I cannot tell you exactly.”
Additional reporting by Omni
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