Friday, January 7, 2022 at 10:17 am• Chris Meijer • Last update: 10:32

Manchester City will make a concrete attempt to untie Erling Braut Haaland from Borussia Dortmund next summer. The Athletic writes that the reigning champion will meet with the entourage of the 21-year-old striker ‘in the coming weeks and months’. At the moment, Real Madrid is considered to be the main competitor in the battle for Haaland.

The name of Haaland has been associated with Real Madrid more than regularly lately. It has already been reported that the striker himself would prefer to move to Real Madrid or Spain, while Dortmund director Hans-Joachim Watzke showed the concrete interest of the Royal confirmed. However, Real Madrid’s priority is the arrival of Kylian Mbappe, who has an expiring contract with Paris Saint-Germain and can therefore be brought in on a free transfer.

Barcelona has also recently been mentioned as a concrete candidate, but The Athletic However, based on various sources, calls it unlikely that the Catalans can play a serious role in the battle for the very expensive Haaland. L’Equipe calculated earlier this week that the arrival of Haaland will cost a club a total of 300 million euros. His contract with Borussia Dortmund, which runs until mid-2024, contains a surrender clause of 75 million euros next summer.

In addition, with a transfer from Haaland, a commission of 20 million euros must be paid to both agent Mino Raiola and father Alf-Inge. Haaland wants a six-year contract with his new club, with an annual salary of 30 to 35 million euros. These are amounts that currently seem too much for the financially impoverished Barcelona. Bayern Munich and PSG are also possible destinations, but Manchester City thinks they can make a better offer than those two clubs. Furthermore, Manchester United does not appear to be a serious competitor. The Red Devils are interested, but it is doubted whether the interest is mutual.

Manchester City want to attract a striker in addition to a left back and a central midfielder next summer. Haaland is the main candidate for this vacancy. The coming weeks or months should show whether the fifteen-time Norwegian international is interested in a transfer to the club where his father was under contract between 2000 and 2003. Should Haaland prove unfeasible, Alexander Isak (Real Sociedad), Dusan Vlahovic (Fiorentina) and Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur, only against a fair price given its age) as alternatives.