After months of speculation, Borussia Dortmund and Norway striker Erling Haaland is finally set to become a Manchester City player after agreeing personal terms and passing a medical this week with the reigning Premier League champions.
City have told his German club they will activate the 21-year-old's release clause, though it's understood the fee will be significantly less than the 75 million pounds ($133 million) that had been rumoured.
As reported by The Guardian on Monday, Haaland's deal is expected to be announced imminently by Dortmund, who the Norwegian joined two-and-a-half years ago.
Whilst there, the prodigious striker has scored 85 goals in 88 games across multiple competitions, despite missing 26 matches over the course of his tenure due to injury.
He will reportedly sign a five-year deal with City and earn a basic salary of around 350,000 pounds ($620,600) per week, not including bonuses.
Haaland's name had been in the mix as the heir to departed Argentinian striker Sergio Aguerö, who left City for Barcelona last year.
Head coach Pep Guardiola's first replacement target had been England captain and Tottenham striker Harry Kane, but Spurs set his value at 150 million pounds, which City chose not to meet following their signing of Jack Grealish from Aston Villa for a British-record 100 million pounds.
Haaland, who stands at six-foot-four-inches, had originally been linked to Real Madrid, but the newly-crowned Spanish champions have instead turned their attentions to Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappé.
City currently sit first on the Premier League ladder, three points ahead of Liverpool, with three matches remaining. They've scored 89 goals so far — the most in the competition — but have struggled at times without an identifiable and consistent centre-forward.
Haaland's signing is seen as the next (and possibly final) step in City's quest for European glory.
Despite their regular domestic dominance following their 2008 take-over by Abu Dhabi's deputy prime minister and royal family member Sheikh Mansour, the club is still yet to win the men's or women's Champions League, which is seen as the crown jewel of continental success.
The men's team was most recently bundled out of the semi-final stage by Real Madrid 6-5 on aggregate, while the women's team were knocked out of last year's edition in the quarter-finals by eventual winners Barcelona.
The Haaland transfer does little to dampen questions around City's funding model, which saw them fined and suspended from UEFA competitions for two years in 2020 after an investigation found they broke Financial Fair Play rules for the second time.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said Haaland moving to their title rivals is a transfer that will take things to the next level.
"I signed a new contract (until 2026) knowing that City will not stop developing," Klopp told Sky Sports.
"It's not about City to define if we can be happy or not. It's about us and what we can make of it.
"If Erling Haaland goes there, that will not weaken them. Definitely not. I know in the moment that other people talk about money, but this transfer will set new levels."
