A senior representative for Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has opened the door to potential crunch talks with Etihad officials over the contract of the Norway international.
Naturally, given the obsession surrounding talk of a release clause in the Norwegian forward's City contract, doubts often swirl from some corners about the length of time in which the player could remain at the Etihad Stadium.
This week, one of the player's more senior representatives Rafaela Pimenta sat down for an interview and discussed a number of factors included talk of a new Manchester City contract and the player's future transfer value.
Manchester City have a tendency to remain on top of contracts within their first-team, and have not been against rewarding players for outstanding performances, regardless of their time at the club.
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Ruben Dias is a primary example, with the Portugal international centre-back extending his long-term deal even further after just one year at the club.
Following a sensational start to life at the Etihad Stadium, the question was put to Rafaela Pimenta whether she and Haaland's team of representatives would be interested in entering talks with Manchester City officials over a new and improved contract.
The response was precisely what fans of the club would want to hear, as she responded, "I hope so.
"If they want to discuss today, we'd be happy.
"Why not? Always good!"
When asked of Erling Haaland's potential future transfer value however, Rafaela Pimenta told Sky Sport in Italy, "One billion."
"That's what I think, because if you put together his football value, his image value, his sponsor value, it is for sure one billion.
The lawyer continued, "And if you compare, it's normal to compare Erling (Haaland) with (Kylian) Mbappe so you have a little bit of an idea of the market.
"I think Erling will be the first player to achieve a transfer that will be around one billion."
Manchester City would be hoping that it never comes to having to place a transfer value on their star forward.
However, one can presume that should any club come calling with an astronomical offer in the region of £1 billion, then the Premier League champions would be forced into accepting.
Pep Guardiola's side will be taking on Brighton in the Premier League this weekend, and Haaland will be looking to further build on his 20 goal output so far this season.
Topics: Erling Haaland, Manchester City, Manchester City Transfer News & Rumours, Premier League, Football, Transfers
Freddie Pye