Manchester United are reportedly set to prioritize a move for Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland over his teammate Jadon Sancho.
According to an exclusive report from the Mirror, Manchester United have cooled off their interest in Borussia Dortmund winger Jadon Sancho and are instead looking to make a move his prolific teammate Erling Haaland.
Manchester United spent the entire summer chasing the transfer of Sancho. However, Borussia Dortmund’s unwillingness to reduce their £108 million asking price for the England international meant that the Red Devils failed to taste success in their pursuit of the winger.
After enjoying a brilliant 2019/20 campaign, Sancho has tailed off somewhat this season. This has reinforced the board’s feeling that it was the right decision not to break the bank for the ex-Manchester City wide-man this past summer. And, it is claimed that they are debating whether to make a renewed attempt at signing him.
Instead, Manchester United could shift their focus towards Sancho’s Borussia Dortmund teammate Erling Haaland. It is no secret that the 20-time English champions were intent on landing the Norwegian international last January, with manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer personally trying to convince his compatriot to move to Old Trafford.
However, Haaland opted to sign for Dortmund instead and has been in absolutely prolific form over the past year. In 33 appearances in all competitions for the German heavyweights, the 20-year-old has plundered 33 goals and set up six more. 17 of his goals have come in the 2020/21 campaign, despite him having missed the entire last month due to an injury.
While Manchester United are strongly interested in the 20-year-old Norwegian, there are some apprehensions considering that they will have to work with super-agent Mino Raiola once again. There has been a lot of friction between the two parties of late, owing to the agent’s comments on the situation of another of his clients, Paul Pogba.
Nevertheless, the report states that the club hierarchy will put aside the differences if it meant that a deal for Haaland can be worked out.
Haaland is contracted with Dortmund till the summer of 2024. It is claimed that there exists a £70 million release clause in his contract which will become active at the end of the next season. It will be interesting to see if Manchester United wait till the clause kicks in or launch a move for him in the upcoming summer itself.
