Soccer

Leeds player Stuart Dallas happy to swap shirts with Leeds fan Erling Haaland

NUMBERS GAME Norway’s Erling Braut Haaland and Northern Ireland’s Stuart Dallas swaps shirts after Monday evening’s Uefa Nations League clash at Windsor Park. The Borussia Dortmund striker scored twice in a 5-1 win for the visitors						          Picture: Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker
NUMBERS GAME Norway’s Erling Braut Haaland and Northern Ireland’s Stuart Dallas swaps shirts after Monday evening’s Uefa Nations League clash at Windsor Park. The Borussia Dortmund striker scored twice in a 5-1 win for the visitors NUMBERS GAME Norway’s Erling Braut Haaland and Northern Ireland’s Stuart Dallas swaps shirts after Monday evening’s Uefa Nations League clash at Windsor Park. The Borussia Dortmund striker scored twice in a 5-1 win for the visitors Picture: Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker

FOOTBALLERS stripping off have attracted adverse attention over recent days but Stuart Dallas wasn't going to refuse a shirt swap with one particular player.

Erling Braut Haaland is set to be soccer's next global superstar and even though he netted twice for Norway and set up another in their 5-1 crushing of Northern Ireland on Monday night, Dallas was happy to exchange jerseys with the Borussia Dortmund striker.

Born in Leeds because his dad Alf-Inge played for the Whites, the 20-year-old made a beeline for current Leeds player Dallas, who said:

"It was a nice touch. Obviously there's a Leeds connection there but I didn't think he'd want to swap shirts with me.

"I'm not one for swapping shirts with anyone really but it was a nice touch that he asked me for my shirt and he whispered something to me as well!

"It's nice that he keeps an eye on Leeds and he wished me all the best in the Premier League and that shows a lot about the type of person he is.

"His performance was incredible. He's only 20 and he has a big future ahead of him… but maybe someday he'll come to Leeds.

"But I think I'll be long finished before that. I'm approaching 30 next year, so I'll be long gone by then but that would be great and I wish him well. He's a top player."

Dallas will be up against more in that category on Saturday when Leeds return to the top flight to take on champions Liverpool, the team the Cookstown man supports – or used to?

"They have a lot of quality," said Dallas about the Reds, "there are a lot of challenges ahead, really. We're playing against the best players in the world, probably the best team in the world as well. It's going to be tough, I know it is, but these are the games you want to be play in.

"As a young boy I dreamt of playing in the Premier League and hopefully this weekend I get that opportunity. To play against the team I grew up supporting as well will be extra special – but I'm a Leeds fan now," he said with a smile.

"What better way than for me to get a result at Anfield? All joking aside, to think of where I've come from, it's a dream come true for me.

"To get promoted with Leeds and to be in the position I'm in, I'm very thankful – a lot of people have helped me along the road and I'm really looking forward to this weekend."

Dallas insisted that his focus had only turned to the Liverpool game after the Nations League matches against Romania and Norway:

"To be honest, I haven't really thought about it…When you're playing in these internationals you can't think too far ahead of you, you have to concentrate on these games. Now they're out of the way I can start concentrating on that.

"Obviously the club has waited a long time to get back in the Premier League and there's probably no tougher way to start the league than by playing the champions – we know it's going to be hard, it's going to be difficult, but we're confident.

"We're not over-confident, we know what's ahead of us but we're looking forward to it: 'Champions v champions' is a good way to start.

"We've had a good pre-season. Obviously the internationals have disrupted our preparations but everybody's in the same position and we've had as good as we could have had. Now the hope is that everybody comes back injury-free from internationals and we start preparing again."