Reports: Erling Haaland's preference is Spain but options are to be kept open amid City interest

City Report

21 January 2022

Manchester City look to have the signing of Julian Alvarez in the bag, with numerous reports coming out of Argentina as well as England corroborating the same. But City's pursuit for another No. 9 from their A-list remains undeterred.

As mentioned in a previous article covered by us by David Ornstein of The Athletic, Erling Haaland tops the shortlist, which also contains the names of Dusan Vlahovic, Harry Kane, and Alexander Isak.

Jack Gaughan of the Daily Mail has now provided some new information on the Haaland front. According to Gaughan, the Premier League champions face an uphill task in trying to convince Haaland to make a move to Manchester, with the Norwegian believed to be favouring a move to Spain at this point in his career.

Real Madrid are expected to be City's chief competitors for the Borussia Dortmund sharp-shooter. The €75million release clause reportedly in Haaland's contract is set to kick into action in the summer, which will enact a bitter battle for the 22-year-old striker, who is seen as the best young striker in the world.

The Norwegian has scored 55 goals in 50 starts in the Bundesliga, in his 2 years at Dortmund. It is reportedly believed that the young starlet has not made any set decision on his future yet, and will keep all his options open in negotiations with different clubs before any move, although it is widely accepted that Spain would be his preferred destination.

Real are also primed to land one of their prime long term targets, Kylian Mbappe, on a free in the summer. And according to various sources, Real would be 'hard-pressed' to structure any financial deals to land both the players in the same window during pandemic times. This encourages City in their pursuit, as they will reportedly push for his signature until the end.

Photo courtesy of Stuart Franklin/Getty Images

Haaland was City's primary target for the striker position last summer as well, but the club quickly switched their focus to Kane, as they were made aware quite early in the window that he was likely to stay put in Germany for another year at least. They were, of course, subsequently also priced out of a move for Kane by Spurs, and Pep Guardiola ended up without a recognised No. 9 for the current season.

In case the pursuit for Haaland fails to materialise in the coming window as well, City are looking at Darwin Nunez from Benfica as a potential signing. The Uruguayan has scored 19 goals in 24 appearances this season.