Haaland rebuffs Manchester United again
According to ESPN, Haaland has spurned another approach by United due to the uncertainty at Old Trafford. Manchester City are favourites to sign him.
Manchester United just about remain in the hunt to secure the final Champions League qualifying slot and the managerial situation is starting to look a little clearer, but doubts remain over where the club’s sporting project is heading. Looking forward to next season, with Erik ten Hag presumably taking over as coach and Ralf Rangnick moving into a consultancy role focusing on new signings, United hope to make a handful of major signings over the summer to rebuild the squad and hopefully, put the team on course for silverware. Big names like Harry Kane and Declan Rice are still being bandied around but the option of bringing Erling Haaland to Old Trafford is off the table. But not because United don’t want him - it’s because the player isn’t convinced.
ESPN reports that “Erling Haaland has ruled out a move to Manchester United because he fears that the team might not be able to live up to his ambitions out on the pitch”. As far as the Norwegian striker is concerned, the economic side is one of the least important aspects to the decision he must make about his future. “Haaland will base his decision only on the sporting project which any interested club proposes and not where he will earn more money,” ESPN add. With just eight games left to play until this season’s Premier League is concluded, United are seventh in the table on 51 points, three points behind Tottenham, who occupy fourth. There is no guarantee that United will qualify for next season’s Champions League, and that is a key factor for Haaland.
Haaland’s decision to turn down Manchester United, according to ESPN, “was made before the club moved forward in their search for a new coach”. It means that the club must continue to look for a forward whether Cristiano Ronaldo continues at Old Trafford next season or not. One thing that is certain is that Edinson Cavani will be moving on this summer and perhaps another member of the forward line such as Marcus Rashford or Jesse Lingard. That would make Ragnick’s task of finding a proven goalscorer even more imperative. What’s worse for United is that Haaland could still end up in Manchester but across town with their neighbours, City….
City lead chase for Haaland
As things stand, Manchester City and Real Madrid are the frontrunners to sign Haaland - if he decides to leave Borussia Dortmund this summer. But City have the edge over Madrid. The Premier League champions have spent a long time looking to find the missing piece in their attack. While they have spent most of the current campaign at the top of the table, there have been moments when Guardiola’s team have lacked a reference in attack. Occasionally, it has been left to the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and others to resolve their matches. Haaland is just the player they are looking for: “Sources told ESPN that Haaland is also keen to continue his development as a player at his next club and one of the reasons behind his interest in moving to the Etihad would be the opportunity to work under Pep Guardiola”.