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Manchester United pulled the plug on a move for Erling Haaland despite the Norwegian looking like he was heading to Old Trafford.
Haaland had a queue of clubs monitoring his situation after banging in the goals for Red Bull Salzburg, including scoring in his first five Champions League games.
United registered strong interest in Haaland and there was of course the link with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, manager at the time.
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The two worked together at Molde when Solskjaer was managing the club for a second time, with Haaland scoring 20 goals in 50 games.
According to ESPN, the pair met in December 2019 - Solskjaer leaving with the feeling that an agreement to sign him for €20 million was near enough complete.
However, Ed Woodward, United's executive-vice-chairman refused to do the deal due to Mino Raiola's agent fees and the insistence of a release clause in Haaland's contract.
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Borussia Dortmund swooped in and snapped up Haaland on a four-year deal at the end of December 2019 - agreeing to the release clause being inserted - but ensuring it could only be activated in 2022.
At Dortmund Haaland has developed into one of the deadliest strikers in world football, scoring 82 goals in 85 appearances.
He's reached the point where he's more than ready for the next challenge and that appears to be at Manchester City, according to recent reports.
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On Monday night, Mike Keegan from the Daily Mail broke the news that City have agreed personal terms with the 21-year-old.
City are now expected to activate Haaland's £63 million release clause and the striker is set to become the Premier League's highest-paid player, on wages of £500,000-per-week.
If City are able to get the deal over the line, thrashing out the fee to Dortmund and commission to agent Raiola, they will usurp the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain.
Haaland's father Alf-Inge, who is believed to have been involved in talks, played 47 times for City and he and his son have been spotted watching the Premier League champions over the years.
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Haaland played at the Etihad Stadium for the first time last year and when he trained on the pitch, cameras picked up his initial reaction to walking out from the tunnel.
"It's beautiful," Haaland quipped.
Pep Guardiola refused to comment on the rumours in his most recent presser but multiple outlets say a transfer is indeed close.
Topics: Manchester City, Manchester United, Erling Haaland, Borussia Dortmund
Josh Lawless