Erling Haaland has become the number one target for Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City this year after missing out on Harry Kane last summer.
Manchester City does not have a proper striker after club legend Sergio Aguero left the club last summer leaving only Gabriel Jesus who is claimed to prefer to be deployed on the wing than as a striker.
The Citizens were prepared to pay £120 million for Harry Kane, a move that would have made the Tottenham striker the most expensive British player of all time. reports from multiple sources confirmed that Harry Kane had agreed to join Manchester on a 5 years deal subject to approval from Daniel Lewy the CEO of Tottenham.
The deal did not materialize as Daniel Lewy will not allow his star man to leave for a fee not less than £150 million.
Manchester City has played the entire season without a strike but Pep Guardiola often uses deploys Kelvin de Bruyne or Gundogan as a false nine. they are currently top on the Premier League table and have booked a place in the semi-finals of the Champions League against Real Madrid.
According to sports mail, Manchester City has agreed to a 5 year deal with Erling Haaland. He would earn £500,000 a week, and become the highest-paid player in the Premier League. The deal will be signed in the next few weeks.
Pep Guardiola has not hidden his admiration for the 21 years old as he was quoted by MEN saying:
“To score that number of goals at his age is not easy.
“He’s 20 years old and the numbers speak for themselves. When that happens it’s because he can score with the right, the left, via counterattacks, in the box. He’s a fantastic striker, everyone knows it.”
The Premier League defending Champions are now expected to trigger the 21-year-old striker’s £63million release clause at Dortmund.
The deal will make Haaland the highest-paid player in the Premier League ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo and De Bruyne.
However, Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke has insisted that the reports speculating in the media are just rumors but admitted that it will be very difficult for Dortmund to match Manchester City should they make an official bid for Haaland.
Real Madrid was also keen on securing the signature of 21 years old Norwegian but with the financial might of Manchester City, the Los Blancos have prioritized the signing of Kylian Mbappe from PSG on a free transfer.
Haaland’s father, Alf-Inge, played for City for three years during his playing career, and the family is considered to have a strong bond with the club.
Haaland Dortmund stat
Haaland joined Dortmund from Salzburg in January 2020 and has since scored 82 goals in 85 appearances for the German club.
Despite missing many games due to injury this season, Haaland has scored 25 goals in 26 appearances.
