KEY POINTS

  • Haaland is contracted with Dortmund until 2024
  • He joined Dortmund from Salzburg in January 2020
  • He has already scored 5 goals and 3 assists for Dortmund in 2021-22

Manchester United are reportedly in pole position to sign Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund next summer.

With Edison Cavani's contract expiring at the end of the 2021-22 season, The Red Devils will be on the lookout for a solid No. 9 and Haaland is expected to be a top target, reported German publication BILD. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer managed a young Haaland at Norwegian club Molde and this past association is believed to engineer this move.

In the ongoing 2021-22 season, Haaland has already netted five goals and three assists for Dortmund in four matches, across all competitions. Haaland is just 21 years old and the Norway national has 111 goals and 31 assists to his name in as many as 157 competitive matches. The talented striker is tipped to be the future of soccer and could go on to emulate the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the sport.

During the 2020 January window, Solskjaer had tried his best to sign Haaland from RB Salzburrg but in the end, he landed at Dortmund.

Even though Haaland is contracted with Dortmund until 2024, his contract has a clause that would see him be available at an asking price of around $88 million in the summer of 2022. The lower transfer fee will kick in as soon as the winter window opens in January 2022. While many other European clubs such as Liverpool, Real Madrid, and Chelsea are also interested in signing Haaland, the Old Trafford side is believed to be ahead in the race.

Earlier in the 2021 summer window, Chelsea had made Haaland their top target as Thomas Tuchel was looking to strengthen his attack. However, the Blues did not proceed with their interest and instead signed Romelu Lukaku from Inter Milan.

Erling Haaland of Borussia Dortmund
Erling Haaland of Borussia Dortmund celebrates after scoring their team's first goal during the Bundesliga match between Borussia Dortmund and Bayer 04 Leverkusen at Signal Iduna Park on May 22, 2021 in Dortmund, Germany. Sporting stadiums around Germany remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. Getty Images/Matthias Hangst

It has been revealed that Chelsea did not go ahead with Haaland because of Mino Raiola, the player's super-agent's demands. Raiola wanted mammoth wages of $1.12 million a week for Haaland in an overall package of $378 million, including an agent fee of $47 million, according to soccer website Football365.