'Better than Haaland!' - Paul Merson urges Manchester United to break the bank for title game-changer

Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson has insisted that Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag should “break the bank” and sign a player who is better than Erling Haaland.

Haaland arrived in England after completing a switch from Borussia Dortmund in a £51m deal, with the Norwegian making an immediate impact for Manchester City.

The City striker’s sensational goalscoring form has allowed Pep Guardiola’s men to keep pace with Premier League leaders Arsenal in the nail-biting title race this season.

Haaland has scored an incredible 21 times in 16 Premier League appearances, with the former Dortmund star the firm favourite to win the Golden Boot.

Ahead of Haaland’s arrival last summer, City were in the race to sign Harry Kane in 2021 and even tabled a staggering £100m bid for the Tottenham striker.

Kane, who signed a six-year deal with Spurs in 2018, remained at the north London club after Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy refused to sanction a move to City.

Merson has now urged United to consider a sensational move for Kane and called the England captain a “machine” and a player who can make a “difference.”

The Arsenal hero added that the 29-year-old Kane is better than Haaland and could put United in a position to challenge for the Premier League and Champions League.

Speaking in his column for The Daily Star, Merson wrote: “In an age where clubs spend money for fun and world-class centre-forwards are a rarity, I would find it crazy if Manchester United did not break the bank for Harry Kane.

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“You can look all around the world, rack your brains and round up every scout within your network and the answer is right there in front of you. There is nobody that comes close to Kane that is currently available.

“If United ever want to catch Manchester City, they’ve got to go and get Kane. Everybody wants a striker and is searching far and wide but the best centre-forward is staring everybody in the face.

“He plays for a team in Tottenham that are going to win absolutely nothing and surely, sooner or later his head is going to be turned by a move again.

“I don’t know what I’m missing here. Even if he costs £150million and it’s a four or five-year contract, you are buying over 100 goals. Who else is going to give you that?

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“Everyone talks about Erling Haaland but for me, Kane could deliver similar numbers in that Manchester City team and even add more assists.

“Call me silly but Kane would even give United a chance of winning the Champions League in my opinion.

“He is a machine. Tottenham are only where they are because of Harry Kane, it really is that simple. He is the difference.”

Topics: Paul Merson, Manchester United, Premier League, Erling Haaland, Manchester City, England, Football

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

@AdnanRiaz9