Man City have Erling Haaland transfer edge as Real Madrid and PSG continue to chase Dortmund ace

03.02.2022 - 16:57 / manchestereveningnews.co.uk

Manchester City are ramping up their efforts to sign Borussia Dortmund goal ace Erling Haaland this summer.

Rumours that the Blues have already agreed a personal deal with the 21-year-old Norway international are believed to be wide of the mark, but they are a live option as the player's agent seeks to extract the best deal he can for his man.

Haaland ’s agent said in December that the Blues - yet to replace goalscoring legend Sergio Aguero - are in a fight with Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Barcelona for one of world football’s hottest properties.

Bayern and Barca have since started to flag in the race, seemingly leaving City and Madrid to scrap it out - but Paris Saint-Germain have now emerged as the bookies’ favourites.

Senior figures at Bayern appear to have poured cold water on a move for the player as the speculation linking the Norway ace to City continues to grow.

When veteran Bayern star Thomas Muller was asked whether he would like to feed Haaland with assists, he replied “I prefer to feed my horses and rabbits”, which is being interpreted as backing for current star Robert Lewandowski, whose contract expires in 2023 and for whom Bayern have considered Haaland a sound replacement.

That viewpoint was backed up by Bayern chief executive Oliver Kahn who, when asked about Haaland, replied “We have Robert Lewandowski. He will also score 30 or 40 goals in a few more years.”

Barring a huge bluff from the Bundesliga champions, that would leave Madrid and City as the main protagonists in the fight for Haaland, who has a release clause of around £62million this summer, with PSG something of an unknown quantity.

Madrid were long touted as favourites, but German media have reported that sportswear giants Puma and Nike