Krishnan Sreekumar
Manchester United held talks over the transfer of Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland earlier in the season
According to Sport (h/t Express), Manchester United were involved in talks with the representatives of Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland earlier in the season, in an attempt to sign the forward in the upcoming summer transfer window.
The Red Devils are in desperate need of a goalscorer ahead of the new season, with their current crop of forwards being underwhelming this term. Despite re-signing Cristiano Ronaldo at the beginning of the campaign, their efforts to win trophies this campaign have not paid dividends.
Other forwards Edinson Cavani and Marcus Rashford have also not been at their best, with the former never available for selection due to his recurring injury niggles while the latter looks like a shadow of the exciting young talent that we knew him to be.
Mason Greenwood’s suspension and Anthony Martial’s loan move to Sevilla have not helped our case either, with the team struggling to score goals or find winners in games that have led to us dropping quite a few points this season.
Raiola and Alf-Inge on tour
Although United are said to have held talks with Haaland over a potential move in the summer to address their goal-scoring issues, they are only one among many clubs interested in a move for the 21-year-old in the summer- who currently has 23 goals in all competitions this season.
Raiola and Haaland’s father, Alf-Inge, visited various top-tier European clubs over the course of the current campaign, including Barcelona, Real Madrid, Juventus, and Bayern Munich. Notably, this list also included United’s rivals Manchester City and Chelsea.
Despite all this interest in the Norwegian ace, it is Real and City that are said to be leading the race to sign him at the end of the season. Both clubs have deep pockets that can be utilised to snap up Haaland ahead of the new campaign, in what would be significant transfer business for either club in the summer.
Los Blancos are currently relying on Karim Benzema to supply the goals for them, and despite the incredible form he is, it must be remembered that he is 34 years of age. A young replacement will be needed in the coming years or if Benzema suffers a serious injury, and very few- if any- come better than Haaland.
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City, meanwhile, only have Gabriel Jesus in the squad as a recognised number nine, but the Brazilian is hardly a consistent goal machine. Despite having the striker in their midst, Pep Guardiola has preferred using Phil Foden or Raheem Sterling as a false nine to lead the attack, as seen in their latest win against Burnley.
Surely, with both these big clubs leading the race for Haaland, United would have to do well to bring in the former Molde man. However, one can never say never, and only time will tell what happens to the Bundesliga star in the summer, and where he ends up – if at all he moves.
