Manchester City on red alert as Haaland deadline moves forward

DORTMUND, GERMANY - DECEMBER 15: Erling Haaland of Borussia Dortmund celebrates scoring his teams first goal of the game during the Bundesliga match between Borussia Dortmund and SpVgg Greuther Fürth at Signal Iduna Park on December 15, 2021 in Dortmund, Germany. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)
DORTMUND, GERMANY - DECEMBER 15: Erling Haaland of Borussia Dortmund celebrates scoring his teams first goal of the game during the Bundesliga match between Borussia Dortmund and SpVgg Greuther Fürth at Signal Iduna Park on December 15, 2021 in Dortmund, Germany. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)

Manchester City’s pursuit of a perfect number nine in Erling Haaland is set to be intensified with Borussia Dortmund moving the deadline forward for the Norwegian Striker to decide on his future endorsements, The Mirror understands.

Haaland, 21, has been a revelation in Dortmund netting the ball 76 times in 74 appearances for the Bundesliga outfit. The Norwegian has been in sublime form ever since he moved to the Signal Iduna Park from Salzburg in 2020.

Haaland’s release clause of €75 million is going to be active from the upcoming summer and nothing but a bidding war is anticipated to take place for potentially the best striker of this generation. The report further adds that the likes of Barcelona, Bayern Munchen, Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United, Paris Saint Germain, and Real Madrid are all in contention for signing a contract with the 21-year-old.

Having said that, Dortmund have reportedly preponed the deadline for Haaland’s future to be decided with the Schwartz Gelben keen on securing a  Champions League spot for next year after a disappointing group-stage exit this year. The German-based club have even offered a new contract for the Norwegian doubling his salary but it is likely to be dwarfed by the gigantic offers on his table.

As per Spanish outlet Marca, Haaland’s family have been approached about interest from both Barcelona and Real Madrid. This makes sense to the recent speculations claiming that Haaland wants only a move to Spain and it may either be the Catalans or the Los Blancos.

Barcelona seems to be his perfect destination for Erling Haaland with his ideology of being the protagonist of the project. That though seems to be tough to happen at Real Madrid with the former La-Liga champions on the verge of signing French Superstar Kylian Mbappe on a Bosman from PSG next summer.

Amidst all the current speculations, Manchester City’s aspirations of landing Erling Haaland are looking like a distant dream at least at this point of time. Guardiola though has made his intentions clear by hunting down the alternatives for Haaland and seems to have shortlisted a few names with Dusan Vlahovic heading the list.