Manchester City have reportedly reached an agreement over personal terms with Borussia Dortmund superstar and Real Madrid target Erling Haaland.
According to the Daily Mail, Manchester City have taken a big step toward signing Borussia Dortmund hitman Erling Haaland in the summer transfer window. The Premier League champions have agreed personal terms over a five-year contract worth in excess of £500,000 per week with the Norwegian striker.
Haaland has been a prolific performer for Borussia Dortmund since joining them in January 2020 from Red Bull Salzburg. The 21-year-old has plundered 82 goals and 23 assists from 85 matches for the German giants. Across his senior career for club and country, the Norwegian has been directly involved in 176 goals in 195 games, averaging a goal or an assist every 73.6 minutes.
Naturally, the who’s who of European football have been gunning for his signing. Manchester United had been interested, but Haaland did not wish to join the Red Devils. Barcelona, too, were in the running, but the financial demands of the deal ruled them out of contention. It has left Manchester City and Real Madrid as the two teams battling for Haaland, with the former seemingly winning the fight.
Manchester City have been in the market for an ace goalscorer since last summer when they lost Sergio Aguero. They spent an entire transfer window chasing Harry Kane’s signing but could not get their man. Ultimately, they went into the season without a natural No. 9 in the squad apart from Gabriel Jesus, who interestingly has been used out of position on the right flank.
It has not affected them a great deal, though, as Manchester City are at the top of the Premier League table and in the semi-finals of the Champions League. Nevertheless, a new striker was a priority for Guardiola, with Haaland emerging as their priority target. Recent reports had indicated that they had tabled a lucrative contract for the 21-year-old, which he has seemingly decided to accept.
Real Madrid, for their part, were also interested in Haaland’s signing. Florentino Perez sought to create a new Galactico strikeforce by combining Haaland with French superstar Kylian Mbappe, who is expected to join Los Blancos on a free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain.
However, as reported by Goal, Real Madrid were unwilling to meet the wage and compensation demands made by Haaland’s camp as they did not wish to upset the rest of the squad and create tension in the dressing room. It has ended up working in favour of Manchester City, who are now one step closer to landing the Borussia Dortmund striker.
As per the report, Manchester City will pay Haaland massive wages of over £500,000 per week, which would make him the highest-paid player in the Premier League. The 21-year-old is expected to sign a five-year contract, with the only formality now being that the Cityzens trigger his £63 million release clause to purchase him from Dortmund.
