Manchester City lead race for Erling Haaland from England

Manchester City is emerging as the frontrunners in the race to sign Erling Haaland this summer. Their rivals, United, are also interested in signing the player. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s relations with the striker are excellent. While he could convince the player to join him at Old Trafford, it is unlikely that Mino Raiola will deal with United again and that his father, Alfie Haaland, will entertain bids from the Reds. 

Premier League clubs Chelsea and Liverpool are the only other clubs apart from City and United who are willing to spend the money to bring in the Norway international. However, it must be remembered that Dortmund has a €75 million release clause in the player’s contract that comes into effect from 2022. 

The release clause states that the entirety of the €75 million must be paid in one go, which is not something that many clubs in the world will be able to afford, given the current financial climate. 

Mino Raiola has had a strained relation with Pep Guardiola regarding the falling out between himself and Zlatan Ibrahimovic at Barcelona. However, the super-agent is willing to bury the hatchet and move on to better and more important business pieces that will be beneficial for everyone. 

The arrival of Haaland at City will mean a permanent replacement for Sergio Aguero, who is yet to agree on a new contract with the club since his current deal expires at the end of the season. 

Haaland’s only condition that will get transferred; this summer is if Dortmund fails to qualify for the Champions League. Otherwise, we will have to wait till 2022 to see the transfer saga unfold.