Manchester City are refusing to comment on claims that Erling Haaland has agreed terms on a £500,000-a-week deal to join them this summer. The Blues are closing on a deal for the 21-year-old striker, who is understood to want to move to the Etihad Stadium, and the transfer fee is a formality, with his Borussia Dortmund contract including a £64million release clause which City are willing to meet.
City have been pushing hard to get a deal done, and with Bayern Munich admitting defeat and sources at Real Madrid privately accepting they are fighting a losing battle to land the Norway international, they are very much in the driving seat. One report on Tuesday claimed that the Blues have come to an agreement with Haaland and his agent Mino Raiola, which would involve Haaland becoming the top earner at the club on a five-year deal. City sources stuck to their usual policy of not commenting on transfer speculation but made it plain that the claims had not originated from them.
But any deal will involve a hefty payment to Raiola, and to Haaland’s dad and former City midfielder Alf Inge Haaland, who has been a key figure in the negotiations. Dortmund said last week that there was no deal in the offing and cited interest from Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, as well as a hope that Haaland would sign a new contract with them - but the player has set his heart on leaving this summer, and his boyhood club City are believed to be his first choice.
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Pep Guardiola will undoubtedly bat away questions about the Haaland claims at his press conference later on Tuesday, aimed at previewing City’s Premier League home game with Brighton the following night.
Haaland scored twice in a 6-1 thrashing of Wolfsburg at the weekend to take his personal goals tally to 33 in 31 games this season, keeping up his phenomenal career strike rate of 151 goals in 196 games. Since moving to the BUndesliga from Norwegian football he has actually stepped up his scoring rate, netting 112 times in 111 games.
If the deal does go through, Haaland’s arrival at City will be delayed by his involvement in Norway’s June internationals, but he would be expected to take part in the Blues’ short summer tour of the USA in mid-July.
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