The battle to sign Erling Haaland is set to fascinating – with Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea all expected to be in the race.
They will face competition from beyond the Premier League, too, with Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich also said to be keen on the Borussia Dortmund star.
Some have observed that Haaland’s dad Alf-Inge might advise his son to join City, having played for the blue side of Manchester – and been on the end of that infamous horror tackle from Red Devils legend Roy Keane.
But Haaland Snr, who also played for Leeds, certainly doesn’t appear to hold any grudges against United, going by his recent comments.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side have made Haaland their priority signing in this summer’s transfer window, according to the Manchester Evening News.
(Image: Borussia Dortmund/Getty Images)
And Alf-Inge outlined his respect for the Premier League giants when asked about transfer speculation back in January.
“Manchester United have achieved great success in recent years,” he told German outlet Sport1.
“The club is also trying to build something new there. But to draw comparison now is not so easy because he (Erling) is already playing in Dortmund.
“These are two very traditional clubs with a large fan base and a glorious history. Man United is a very proud club, just like Dortmund in Germany.”
(Image: Pool via REUTERS)
The £18million Dortmund paid for Haaland last January looks like a great piece of business, with the Bundesliga club set to demand £100m-plus to let him go this summer, after his 49 goals in 49 games for the club.
United were of course keen on signing him following his Champions League heroics for Red Bull Salzburg, but pulled out of talks.
After his son joined Dortmund instead, Alf-Inge said in March last year: “You never know how it would go in other clubs.
“It may well have been good, too, if we had chosen a different route. We’ll never get an answer to that. But we are very happy with the clubs he has been in.”
Solskjaer has said he is still in touch with Haaland following their days together at Norwegian club Molde – and has been seen as a potential factor in United’s favour in the race to sign the 20-year-old.
But Haaland Snr last year said the whole package of the club was much more important than the identity of the manager.
“You have to go to a club where the whole club wants you, not just the coach,” he said.
“I think that’s the most important thing, in addition to how the club has been over the last five or 10 years and what direction they’ve taken.
“Because it’s dangerous to just sign for a coach, because he can suddenly be sacked.”
This has proven to be the case at Dortmund, who parted company with Lucien Favre back in December. Haaland is now being coached by Edin Terzic, who is in charge until Marco Rose takes over in the summer.
But it remains to be seen who Haaland’s next manager will be, as the football world holds its breath.
