Early Sunday afternoon, Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund confirmed the news that RB Salzburg's highly-rated striker Erling Braut Haaland would join them on a contract till 2024.

Haaland signs for Dortmund

He has been one of the most talked about forwards of the 2019/20 season and Europe's elite clubs all had ambitions of adding him to their squads. Real Madrid, Juventus, Manchester United and the rest lined up to bring him in from Austria to boost their fire power, but it is the German side that secured his signature on Sunday.

The contract runs until 30 June 2024 and the fee is reported to be 20 million euros, as the 19-year old looks to continue his development under Lucien Favre. The move also means - thanks to removed FIFA restrictions - that after being knocked out of the Champions League, he will now be back involved with his new club.

"I had intensive discussions with the club and sports management," said a happy Haaland, "especially with Hans-Joachim Watzke, Michael Zorc and trainer Lucien Favre.

"There was a feeling right from the start that I absolutely wanted to switch to this club, go this route and play football in this incredible Dortmund atmosphere in front of more than 80,000 spectators.

"I’m already burning for it," concluded the Norwegian, which must be a very special Christmas present for the yellow and black fans.

And the club were clearly delighted too.

"At the age of 19, of course, Erling is just beginning a hopefully great career," said Michael Zorc, Dortmund's sporting director. "We can all look forward to an ambitious, athletic and physically strong centre forward with a pronounced instinct for goal and impressive speed, something we'd like to develop further at Dortmund."