Erling Haaland is a man who is rarely out of the headlines at the moment.
The 20-year-old Dortmund star is firmly establishing himself as one of the best young forwards in the world.
And his stunning displays in the Bundesliga and Champions League this season have drawn envious glances from all around Europe, with a number of elite clubs believed to be lining up mega-money bids ahead of the summer.
Barcelona look to have made the first move, with Haaland’s notorious agent Mino Raiola pictured meeting Haaland’s father Alf-Inge on Thursday.
But judging by some old comments made by Haaland, it seems the Premier League is where his heart truly lies – and more specifically Leeds United.
Alf-Inge was a player himself, and represented Nottingham Forest, Leeds and Manchester City during his career.
Haaland, meanwhile, was born in Yorkshire before moving to Norway at the age of three, and clearly has a huge sentimental attachment to the area.
Speaking in an interview with Norwegian outlet Aftenposten back in 2017 when Haaland was just 16 years old and still at Molde, he was asked whether he would like to follow in his dad’s footsteps and make the move to England.
And he replied: “I want to be the best possible. The dream is to win the Premier League with Leeds.
“In addition, the goal is to become a better player than Dad was. I hope to be able to get more international matches than he did.”
(Image: PA)
Haaland’s passion for The Whites was also spoken about recently by midfielder Stuart Dallas, who explained that Haaland made his feelings for the club clear during an international match between Norway and Northern Ireland last year.
Dallas told the Super 6 podcast: “We’d just been beaten 5-1, he played like the superstar he is and ripped us apart.
“And then after the game, I went to shake hands with him and he just said to me, ‘Can I swap shirts?’. And I think if you watch the clip, I sort of like smile and carry on.
“And then he’s like shouted at me and I’ve come back. And he was like, ‘Yeah we’ll do it’. And he’s just swapped shirts and then just whispered into my ear, ‘Marching on together!’
“And he’s like, ‘I follow Leeds’ and that was it really.”
Alas, the fact that Haaland will be desperate to be competing for major honours and the fact that he will likely command a transfer fee of £150m or more means a sensational move to Leeds looks to be nothing but a far-off dream.
Nevertheless, it would be intriguing to see him lining up against Marcelo Bielsa’s side next season.
And with Manchester City among the favourites for his signature, it is a prospect which certainly cannot be ruled out ahead of what could be a massive transfer tug-of-war.
