Manchester City had Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe and Harry Kane on their list of potential replacements for Sergio Aguero this summer, but they failed to match Kane’s asking price and aren’t likely to pry Mbappe away from Paris Saint-Germain, so that leaves them with Haaland.
The 21-year-old is contracted with Borussia Dortmund until 2024, but he has a release clause of €75m (£64m) that will be activated at the end of the season. City can easily afford Haaland, but Carlton Palmer thinks they’ll pay substantially more to sign him early.
He told This Is Futbol: “I think they’ll have probably already wrapped that deal up myself for the January transfer window. I’d be surprised if the Haaland deal’s not done. Knowing that he’s going to be available at the end of the season, they might even give 100 million for Haaland so Dortmund get an extra £40m to let him out at Christmas.”
City have gotten used to paying over the odds for players, but it’s hard to see them offering Dortmund an extra 60% to try and sign Haaland in January. Dortmund know there will be a bidding war for the prolific Norwegian international, so the terms of his release clause need to be examined.
Haaland has scored 68 goals and made 19 assists in 67 games since joining Dortmund from RB Salzburg, but it’s unknown where he’ll end up next summer. Every big club in Europe are monitoring his progress, so City are expected to have stiff competition for his signature.
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