Haaland moving to Manchester City next season

Manchester City has agreed to sign Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund, bringing in one of the world’s most exciting young players as a belated replacement for club great Sergio Aguero.

The 21-year-old Haaland will join City on July 1, the English Premier League champion said in a brief statement on Tuesday, subject to personal terms being finalized.

No details were otherwise disclosed but the Norway striker is reported to have a release clause of 75 million euros ($79 million) in his Dortmund contract that City will activate this week.

Along with Kylian Mbappe, Haaland is leading the new generation of soccer superstars ready to take over from Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. A tall, powerful and fast center forward, he has 85 goals in 88 games for Dortmund since joining from Austrian club Salzburg in January 2020 and has also been linked with a move to Real Madrid.

Haaland could be the headline signing that lifts City from being a regular winner of domestic trophies to the standout team in Europe. Pep Guardiola’s team has failed to win the Champions League despite heavy spending by the club’s Abu Dhabi ownership.

City has played without an out-and-out striker this season following the departure of Aguero, its record scorer, at the end of the 2020-21 campaign after 10 years. The team’s lack of a natural goal-scorer has shown in some big matches this season, notably when getting eliminated by Real Madrid in the Champions League semifinals despite scoring five goals across two legs.

In a sense, Haaland is returning home. He was born in England — in Leeds, which is a short drive from Manchester in the north of the country — while his father, Alf-Inge, was playing for City in the Premier League. As a kid, Erling Haaland was pictured wearing a City jersey.