City make Haaland top target
clause they had inserted into the deal that took Jadon Sancho to Dortmund as a £15m bargaining chip in any bidding war with Manchester United, Chelsea Real Madrid and Barcelona.
City are so determined to bring 20-year-old Haaland to the Premier League that a source at the club revealed they are “not actively pursuing” Barca superstar Messi.
It seems signing Messi, 33, is no longer viable given the finances involved – and the belief that Haaland could lead City’s attack for the next decade and beyond.
And City’s relationship with Dortmund could prove vital – when Sancho joined the Bundesliga club for £8m in 2017, the deal included a 15 per cent sell-on clause.
Dortmund valued the 21-year-old at £108m when United were interested last summer – and that would have seen the Sky Blues bank more than £16million.
City could offer to waive that payment – but still believe the German club will have to further reduce Haaland’s asking price in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic.
There is also a clause in Haaland’s contract which enables the Norwegian to move for £68m next year, so the clock is ticking.
City have other options – Tottenham’s Harry Kane and Inter’s Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez – but all of them would cost in excess of £100m.
And Dortmund’s transfer strategy could help.
The German club always demand that 50 per cent of any transfer fee is paid up front, with the remainder financed in a maximum of three installments, and that would not be an issue for the Etihad club.
City have also decided they will not be following up their interest in Jack Grealish with Aston Villa’s £100m-plus valuation of the midfielder prohibitive. How City knocking Dortmund out of Europe will help Haaland chase