4 reasons why Manchester United are unlikely to sign Erling Haaland in the summer transfer window
Erling Haaland has been in sensational form this season. With less than a month left until the summer transfer window, rumors of him leaving Dortmund have intensified.
Haaland has been linked with a number of top European clubs for quite a while and a move away from Borussia Dortmund this summer looks imminent.
Haaland is a great talent and is destined to achieve big things in the future. Apparently, Dortmund have set a price tag of £150m given the player’s performances and demand.
Manchester United, under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, are making good progress overall as a team but it does look as though they are desperately in need of a quality #9 in their team for the long run.
So does it really make sense to sign the Norwegian striker this summer? Let’s find out.
#4 The Mino Raiola factor
Haaland has caught the eye of many with his stellar performances for Borussia Dortmund. The 20-year old Norwegian striker has scored 25 goals this season in just 27 Bundesliga matches.
To add, the youngster was devastatingly effective in the UEFA Champions League where he scored 10 goals in 8 appearances.
At a very young age, Haaland has earned a lot of plaudits and it is only natural that his signature is desired by the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City, Real Madrid, Barcelona and others. Clearly, United face some tough competition here and these are big, financially powerful clubs that we are talking about.
The other problem that United face is that of Erling Haaland’s agent Mino Raiola. It is public knowledge that the relationship between United and Raiola hasn't been the best due to some of the events involving Raiola’s other client Paul Pogba.
Raiola recently confirmed that Real Madrid have the financial strength to sign Haaland.
With Raiola's reputation, it is a tricky deal for United to get done even if they have the financial strength.
#3 Haaland’s release clause
As was clearly seen in the Jadon Sancho saga last summer, it has not been easy for Manchester United to negotiate with Borussia Dortmund. Dortmund may be a selling club but it is important to strike the right chord with them.
Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc recently expressed his desire to keep Haaland at Dortmund for next season.
That being said, it is rumored that the Norwegian striker has a release clause in the range of €75-100m, which only gets activated next season.
Given the competition this summer and Dortmund’s stance of demanding at least £150m, most clubs wouldn’t be able to financially compete for his signature.
It only makes more sense for United to wait until the summer of 2022 and then go to a bidding war with the other European giants in case Haaland is not involved in a transfer this season.