Borussia Dortmund will soon hold a meeting with Erling Haaland over his future while Manchester United and Manchester City circle for his signature.
The 21-year-old continues to establish himself as one of Europe’s most sought-after strikers. He initially burst onto the scene with RB Salazburg, but it quickly became clear he was destined for bigger things.
As a result, he signed for Dortmund in December 2020. In doing so, he snubbed a move to Man Utd, whose then-boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer tried to tempt his fellow Norwegian.
However, Haaland has not regretted his move to Germany. Despite injury problems restricting his game time this season, he has still scored 16 goals in 14 Bundesliga games.
Overall, meanwhile, he has hit 80 goals in 79 Dortmund matches. As a result, he has had strong links with a move away to United, Man City and Real Madrid all supposedly keen.
Haaland has a release clause worth €75million (£62million) in his contract which becomes active this summer. Recent reports have claimed that Madrid have taken a major step forward in negotiations to sign the striker, as they also look to sign Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe.
Asked about Haaland’s future, Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke told RTL: “I don’t know. That will certainly clear up [during the meeting with Haaland’s camp] in the next few weeks, maybe a month, maybe six weeks.”
Watzke added: “If he leaves, we’ll handle it the way we’ve always done it. We’ll find someone new again.”
Dortmund ready to find Haaland successor
Indeed, Dortmund lost star winger Jadon Sancho to Man Utd last summer in a £73million deal.
They consequently added Donyell Malen and the Netherlands international has impressed with seven goals and six assists in 32 appearances this term.
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By and large, though, Dortmund have relied on Haaland’s goals this season.
He has only failed to score in two of the Bundesliga games he has played in this season, amid his injury problems.
Nevertheless, he notched an assist in one of those two anomalies and is closing in on a return from his latest setback.
Striker futures seemingly intertwined
Haaland is rightly a major target for Man City, who missed out on the signing of Tottenham striker Harry Kane last summer.
However, Real Madrid are also a possible destination for Haaland, as is Mbappe.
It remains unclear if Los Blancos can afford both Haaland and Mbappe. The latter is set to become a free agent when his PSG contract expires in the summer, but his wages will not come cheap.
Nevertheless, PSG would then be looking to sign another striker and could also go after Haaland.
PSG have also been linked with a move for Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portgual star’s future at Man Utd remains unclear while they look for a new permanent manager.
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