Manchester City have been given a transfer boost in their pursuit of Erling Haaland, with reports from England revealing the club may have just gained the upper hand in the race to sign the Norwegian superstar.
Having missed out on a deal for Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane earlier this year, the Citizens are expected to spend big on a new centre-forward ahead of the 2022-23 campaign.
The Borussia Dortmund’s striker is reportedly next Pep Guardiola’s ‘primary striker target’ as he looks for a new No 9 after the departure of Sergio Aguero last summer.
The Norwegian has become one of the most sought-after players in the transfer market since making his breakthrough at Red Bull Salzburg a couple of years ago.
Haaland, who remains under contract with the Black and Yellow until 2024, has already netted 19 goals in 15 appearances for Dortmund this term despite injury concerns.
Such remarkable progress in Germany has invariably put the Norwegian goal machine on the radars of many European football clubs, who are bracing themselves for a battle to attract the services of the Dortmund talisman with a saga brewing ahead of the summer transfer window.
It looks like there’s set to be a ferocious bidding war when he decides to leave Dortmund, but Spanish outlet Sport this week claimed whilst Manchester City hold an interest they “won’t break the bank or their wage structure to do so” posing an obstacle in their pursuit.
Pep Guardiola’s side weren’t thrilled at the prospect of paying his representative Mino Raiola up to £30m. But according to Manchester Evening News (MEN), that may be a thing of the past due to new FIFA proposals.
As per the report, a new ruling by FIFA could put City right back in contention. From next season, the governing body, after intervention from the Premier League, European Club Association (ECA) and FIFPro will impose a 10 per cent cap on agents’ fees for transfers.
This means that a huge fee for Raiola may be avoided depending on when Haaland decides to move from Dortmund. So Raiola would only pocket £6.4m if City match Haaland’s €75m (£63.7m) release clause at the end of the season.
City don’t like dealing with Raiola, but this ruling would be great news as it will make it much more straightforward for the Blues to land their striker target.
