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After Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund secured an agreement, Erling Haaland, one of the world’s most prolific and sought-after attackers, will play in the English Premier League next season. Months of conjecture had surrounded the 21-year-future, old’s with recent speculations of a move to the City gaining steam.
“Manchester City can confirm that we have reached an agreement in principle with Borussia Dortmund for forward Erling Haaland’s move on July 1, 2022,” the club said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Terms must be agreed upon by both the club and the player.”
City will purportedly pay the Norwegian striker’s release clause of 60 million euros (about $63 million), effectively ending City’s search for a striker following the departure of record scorer Sergio Agüero last summer.
The possibility of Haaland joining City worries City’s opponents, as Pep Guardiola’s side has failed to find a cutting edge upfront while winning the league.
Haaland has scored 85 goals in 88 appearances for Dortmund since joining the club from Red Bull Salzburg in January 2020.
He made a fantastic start in the Bundesliga, scoring a hat-trick on his debut, and rumors regarding his future move followed him throughout his two-and-a-half-year tenure in Germany. Following in the footsteps of his father, Alf-Inge Haaland, who played for City from 2000 to 2003.
Haaland was born in the year 2000 in Leeds, England, and grew up in the Norwegian town of Bryne, where he played junior football for the local team. He joined Molde in 2017 and Salzburg two years later, scoring 29 goals in 27 games, including eight in a Champions League group stage.
Why was Erling Haaland signed by Man City?
City have been a force to be reckoned with on the domestic scene in recent years, but European glory has eluded them.
With Sergio Aguero, the club’s all-time leading scorer, who left the club as a free agent in 2021, the widespread assumption is that another dangerous No.9 is required to break the club’s continental duck.
Guardiola tried multiple times to wrest Harry Kane from Tottenham Hotspur before the current season, but the England captain proved impossible to lure away from his Premier League rivals.
The focus swiftly shifted to Haaland, who is likely to follow in his father’s footsteps by adorning the City bookshelves.
