Man United or Man City? Erling Haaland still 'dreaming' of Premier League move

Posted Friday, August 13, 2021 by 101 GREAT GOALS

There have been a few constants in the football world over the last decade; the endless influx of cash into the sport, Arsenal leaving its fans bewildered at every turn, and Borussia Dortmund losing its best players to bigger fish. In this instance, Erling Haaland is set to be the latest in an impressive line of players that have left Signal Iduna Park for greener pastures.

That is hardly a slight against the Ruhr valley giants either. Dortmund is a big club both at home and abroad, and has a knack for developing bright players to become some of the most coveted across the continent.

Jadon Sancho was plucked from Manchester City's academy and turned into arguably the best wide player in the Bundesliga before a return to English shores with Manchester United. Looking further back, the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Mario Götze, Julian Weigl, Christian Pulisic, Ousmane Dembélé, Shinji Kagawa, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang all headed for the departures gate after rising to prominence in the black & yellow. Haaland will be no different.

The Norwegian wunderkind and son of former Nottingham Forest, Leeds United, and Manchester City midfielder Alf-Inge Håland has set the pitch ablaze during his time in the German top-flight, smashing an other-worldly 40-goals in forty-three Bundesliga outings for Die Schwarzgelben, while adding another 12-goals in ten Champions League appearances.

Sixty goals in sixty combined appearances across less than two full seasons would make anyone stand up and take notice, and a veritable who's who of the European elite have tracked the player for some time.

While there remains a lack of clarity regarding whether or not the Dortmund superstar has a release clause (though highly reputable German outlet Ruhr Nachrichten claim one of at least €80million does indeed exist), Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich have all boasted a varying degree of interest in the Leeds-born goal machine.

But according to Sky Germany's Jesco von Eichmann, Haaland continues to have his eyes set on a move to the Premier League. His destination options are largely contingent on what transpires over the remainder of the current transfer window.

Chelsea is all but set to complete their deal for Romelu Lukaku, while City remains determined to land Harry Kane. Real Madrid certainly has an interest in Haaland, but if they can stump up the funds to secure a potential deal for Kylian Mbappe at some stage, then they too are surely out of the running. Barça's financial disaster zone should keep them at a distance too, leaving just United and Bayern as the headline suitors at the minute.

Von Eichmann does not think Dortmund will come to the table with the Bavarian giants, however, and considering the Red Devils' need for a center forward once Edinson Cavani's contract expires, coupled with a potential reunion with Jadon Sancho, United could well provide Haaland with the Premier League move he is rumored to crave.