Manchester City look like they have won the race to sign Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland.
At 21, Haaland is the most sought-after player in Europe. He has scored 82 goals in 85 games for Dortmund, and was wanted by all the top clubs in Europe, including PSG, Real Madrid and Barcelona.
However, City have taken a significant step ahead of their rivals by agreeing personal terms with the players representatives that will see him earn more than GBP 500,000 a week. That is in some way in excess of the club’s top earner, Kevin de Bruyne, who makes GBP 385,000 a week. It will make Haaland the highest-paid player in the Premier League.
City are now expected to trigger his GBP 63 million release clause. There have been suggestions that can be done as early as next week, with Haaland agreeing a five-year deal at the Etihad.
Haaland had entertained hopes of being persuaded to stay with the Bundesliga side for another season, but they now appear to be at an end. He has got previous City connections. His father, Alf-Inge, who also acts on his behalf and has been involved in the negotiations, played for City between 2000 and 2003.
It was while wearing the blue of City that he was the subject of an infamous tackle by Roy Keane after a history of bad blood between the two players. Pictures of a young Erling wearing a City shirt have been trending on social media.
If the deal goes through, City will hope for Haaland to debut in their colours during their pre-season tour of America. However, that may be scuppered by the fact that Norway have four Nations League matches in June, and he will need some time off to rest.
The Premier League leaders wanted to sign Harry Kane last summer, but were unable to get Tottenham to compromise on their valuation of the player. Instead, they operated without a conventional centre forward for much of the season, and the likes of Gabriel Jesus and Phil Foden were sometimes deployed in a false nine role.