Man Utd given Erling Haaland transfer boost by Real Madrid claim – ‘It will be difficult’

Man Utd: The story behind the Haaland pursuit

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Former Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon has suggested that the Spanish giants will not be able to afford to sign Erling Haaland in the summer transfer window. The 20-year-old has been heavily linked with an imminent move away from Borussia Dortmund, with Manchester United also said to be keen on securing his services.

Haaland has established himself as one of the world’s best players in an incredibly short space of time since joining Dortmund in January of last year.

The Norway international boasts a formidable scoring record of 49 goals in as many appearances for the Bundesliga heavyweights, and became the youngest and quickest player to reach the 20-goal milestone in the Champions League earlier this month.

United have a long-standing interest in the forward, and were in advanced talks to sign him before his move to Red Bull Salzburg in 2019, but were ultimately unsuccessful with the Austrian outfit pipping the Red Devils at the eleventh hour.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer managed Haaland while in charge of Molde, and the United boss is said to be in the market for a new striker amid uncertainty surrounding the future of Edinson Cavani, who will be out of contract at the end of the season.

Although United will undoubtedly face a tough battle to land the Dortmund talisman in the summer, it remains to be seen whether Real Madrid will be able to compete for his signature amid the effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

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Calderon, who spent two-and-a-half years as club president at the Bernabeu, has admitted that his former employers could be lacking the financial strength to mount big-money approaches for the likes of Haaland or Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe.

“They are always rumours at this time of the season,” Calderon told talkSPORT. “They are talking about Mbappe, Haaland… too many players.

“We are not in the best form economically speaking because we are refurbishing our stadium, spending a lot of money.

“It will be difficult to spend money in the summer. We always try to sign good players, we’ve been doing that for years.”

Haaland is unlikely to be available for anything less than a nine-figure transfer fee this summer, with his £64million release clause set to come into effect at the end of next season.

Although United could benefit from Real’s lack of spending power in the summer, they are likely to face a transfer problem of their own with Solskjaer’s total budget standing at just £80m.

This means that players will need to be sold in order to stand any chance of signing Haaland ahead of next season.

Solskjaer revealed last month that he enjoys a strong personal relationship with the striker, who is still in regular contact with the United boss, but remained coy when quizzed about the possibility of a summer move.

“When you have had kids and players through as a coach, you follow them and I keep in touch with Erling,” Solskjaer told reporters before his side’s Europa League round of 16 first-leg clash against Real Sociedad.

“It’s great to see him become the player he has become and [how] he works to improve all the time. He’s a Dortmund player [so] we just wish him well there and let’s see what life will bring later on.

“You know I can’t speak about Erling because he’s at Borussia Dortmund, and it’s disrespectful to talk too much about it, apart from that I know him and I speak to him. Who wasn’t interested in him a year ago?

“Everybody would say you would take the best players in the world and Erling is a top player.”

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