Manchester United haven’t given up hope of luring Erling Haaland to Old Trafford this summer, according to reports.
The Borussia Dortmund star was said to have been United’s top target, before they moved to complete the signing of his former teammate, Jadon Sancho. Deals for Atletico Madrid’s Kieran Trippier and Real Madrid’s Raphael Varane (in case you’ve been living under the densest of rocks) are also rumoured to be in the works.
Haaland would not come cheap, with Dortmund supposedly wanting as much as €200 million (roughly £170m) for the Norwegian hitman.
According to Mundo Deportivo (via 90 Min), United are weighing up whether to try and entice the Germans by including Anthony Martial as part of any offer.
Is that likely to cut any ice with Dortmund? You’d have to say almost certainly not, mainly because BVB tend to bring in younger strikers to develop and, ideally, make big money on down the line.
Robert Lewandowski and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang have both passed through North Rhine-Westphalia in recent times, with the latter being sold to Arsenal for a considerable profit. Haaland is the latest recruit under an approach that Martial just would not align with.
Besides, with Edinson Cavani having extended his stay at Old Trafford and the Uruguayan still performing at the peak of his powers, and the likes of Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood in their ranks, United are hardly in desperate need of strengthening up top. File this one under ‘Behave yourselves’.