Football news - Man City, Chelsea, Man Utd, Barcelona and Real to battle for Haaland - Paper Round

ByAlexander Netherton

Updated 13/03/2021 at 09:09 GMT

Manchester City, Chelsea, United, Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Real Madrid are all interested in signing Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund this summer, while Cristiano Ronaldo is available for transfer from Juventus. Chelsea appear to have lost out on Anel Ahmedhodzic of Malmo to Italian side Atalanta.

Man City and Chelsea make move for Haaland

The Sun reports that Manchester City and Chelsea are already making moves for Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland. There will be competition for his signature, with the player rated at £150 million despite him being available for £65 million next summer. There will be competition though, from Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Manchester United also interested.

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Paper Round’s view: Manchester City have the finances to beat any other club to his signature, with the possible exception of Paris Saint-Germain. It appears that he is destined to leave this summer, and City in particular need a new striker given the exit of Sergio Aguero, assuming he doesn’t sign a new deal.

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Laporta plans Barca overhaul

Barcelona are also keen on Erling Haaland, says Spanish newspaper Marca. Joan Laporta wants to sign the forward, and will sacrifice Philippe Coutinho, Samuel Umtiti, Martin Braithwaite, Junior Firpo and Antoine Griezmann to raise funds. Eric Garcia, Sergio Aguero, Memphis Depay, David Alaba and Georginio Wijnaldum could all arrive on free transfers.

Paper Round’s view: If Barcelona sign Haaland then they would finally have a player who could help them move on from Lionel Messi, while convincing the Argentine to stay on for a year or two longer. As for their free transfer plans, all of those players offer experience at a bargain price.

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Juve set Ronaldo asking price

Juventus are in no mind to offer Cristiano Ronaldo a new contract, despite the 36-year-old striker’s current deal ending in 2022. Instead, Juve want to start building a younger side, and are willing to let Ronaldo go in the summer. They are prepared to accept £24 million for the player, with Real Madrid already linked.

Paper Round’s view: Given the impact of the coronavirus, £24 million for a player who might be able to last just a year longer is probably too much to countenance. But Ronaldo is almost a guaranteed supply of goals, and perhaps clubs looking for a stop-gap solution could be tempted to sign him.

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Chelsea set to miss out on defender

Anel Ahmedhodzic of Malmo was targeted by Chelsea after they had scouted the 21-year-old defender, but a move for the Bosnian fell through, according to his father, because of his agent. The Daily Mail reports that he is now close to confirming a summer move to Serie A side Atalanta instead.

Paper Round’s view: Of course Chelsea are a bigger club than Atalanta, but for a young player based in Sweden it probably makes more sense to move to Italy first, and in particular Atalanta, because young players are given the chance to develop there. At Chelsea, there is generally less time and more pressure for young players to succeed.

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