Former Manchester City striker Paul Dickov has admitted that he made contact with former team-mate Alf-Inge Haaland in an attempt to try and convince his son, Erling, to join the Blues.
City, on Monday morning, confirmed the arrival of the Norway international, just over a month after they had announced that they had reached an agreement with Borussia Dortmund to sign the striker. He has put pen to paper on a contract up until the summer of 2027.
Haaland was the subject of interest from a plethora of big-name European clubs ahead of joining City, including the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United. He had enjoyed a stellar two-and-a-half-year period at Dortmund, netting 86 goals in just 89 appearances.
READ MORE: Three ways Man City could line up next season after Erling Haaland transfer
He will now have aspirations of replicating similar fortunes in City colours. His move to the Etihad Stadium has meant that he he has followed in his father's footsteps, after he played for the Blues between 2000 and 2003.
During that spell at Maine Road (City's former ground), Haaland snr played alongside Dickov and the latter has admitted that he reached out to his old team-mate in a bid to try and entice him to make his son move to City.
"As much as I'm good friends with them, I've been non-committal until a few weeks ago," Dickov told Football Daily. "We used to message each other during the City games and he used to say 'Wow, City are amazing!'
"I think it was the 7-0 Leeds game [in December], I was putting little teasers in there wanting a reaction, asking him (about Haaland) if City would be even better with a 21-year-old, 6ft5 Norwegian centre-forward to put the ball in the back of the net. He didn't really bite at the time, but they're super excited.
"I think everybody is; Man City's fans, Alf himself... they're so impressed with the set up at City. It's no secret that they went to every top club and playing under Pep Guardiola has to be a huge, huge thing for everybody else.
"The players that are in the squad, a player like Erling, who's prolific already at the age of 21, has to be on the end of some of these wonderful Kevin de Bruyne, Jack Grealish, Phil Foden, you could go on and on, and Bernardo Silva crosses. That had to be a huge thing.
"There was a little bit of an emotion attachment with it as well with his dad, we've seen the pictures of him running around with a No.15 shirt from the Maine Road days. The whole package at Man City was just fantastic for them, from an emotional point of view and obviously the financial point of view.
"But more than anything, from the football point of view, it was the structure that Man City have got, not just now, but going forward."
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