Liverpool to battle Arsenal in race to sign striker dubbed as the next Erling Haaland - Reports

Liverpool and Arsenal are reportedly in the race to sign Nordsjaelland striker Andreas Schjelderup, who has been dubbed the next 'Erling Haaland'.

As per Calciomercato (h/t TEAMtalk), Sevilla are also tracking the up-and-coming striker's progress and have already had a £3.5 million bid rejected. The Danish side is holding out for an offer in the region of £17.5 million for the Norwegian.

Liverpool's need to add to their attack is evident. The Reds may have signed Darwin Nunez from SL Benfica this summer. However, they also saw important squad players in Divock Origi and Takumi Minamino leave the club.

Moreover, 30-year-old Roberto Firmino is slowly entering the twilight of his career and his contract runs out in the summer of 2023. It is worth mentioning that the Reds missed out on signing Haaland in the past.

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According to his father, Alf-Inge Haaland, Liverpool were among the teams that were linked with the Norway international before his move to Manchester City in June this year. He told The Big Decision documentary on Viaplay (h/t TEAMtalk):

"On our list, I think City is the best team. [Bayern] Munich is number two. We have Real Madrid as number three, Paris Saint-Germain as number four."

"We also have some English teams other than City who are quite good, Liverpool and Chelsea. Also, there is Barcelona. They are sort of in the same row.”

The Merseyside giants will not want to repeat the same mistake now that the next big thing from Norway is evidently on the market. Arsenal signed Gabriel Jesus from Manchester City but saw Alexandre Lacazette leave on a free transfer to Olympique Lyonnais in the summer.

Schjelderup, meanwhile, has scored five times and assisted once in 10 Superligaen games for Tigrene during the current campaign.

The midfielder joined Nordsjaelland in 2020 and was promoted to the first team during the winter break that year. He has scored 12 goals in 49 appearances across all competitions for the Danish club.

Liverpool and Arsenal target idolizes Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard

Speaking in an interview with TV2 (h/t GOAL) last season, Schjelderup admitted that he models his game on Barcelona legend Andres Iniesta.

However, he went on to add his admiration for two of Norway's most talented players of the current generation. Schjelderup said:

"Andres Iniesta is the player I always looked up to. His fantastic close-range technique made him a favorite. But I also very much look up to Martin Odegaard and Erling Haaland, especially the latter's insane mentality."

✍️ 𝗦𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗱!

→ Andreas Schjelderup extends his contract with FCN 🌟 More to come!

“I feel comfortable in the club. It’s my home. I’ve been building good relations and I’ve become a part of a family.”

Full video + article here: fcn.dk/2021/09/andrea… https://t.co/aUId6GnGPZ

This could play in Arsenal's favor considering Odegaard is currently a big part of manager Mikel Arteta's plans and is the club's captain. Liverpool, on the other hand, were one of the clubs Schjelderup had trials at in 2020 before choosing to join Nordsjaelland for more first-team opportunities.