TalkSport pundit Jason Cundy doesn’t think that Manchester City will be in a position to make a ‘big-money’ move for Erling Braut Haaland this summer.
Following Sergio Aguero’s announcement that he will be leaving the club at the end of the season, talk of who is going to be his successor has already begun, with The Sun noting that Manchester City plan to make him their ‘top target’ this summer.
A recent report from ESPN claimed that Haaland’s club Borussia Dortmund have put a €180m (£154m) price tag on his head, but he does have a release clause of €75m (£64m) that becomes active next year, and speaking on TalkSport, Cundy thinks those price points might dictate their policy regarding their pursuit of him.
He said: “Despite the dead deep pockets and despite the amount of money they have spent over the years, [City] don’t break world records. Man Utd will go to £80m, £90m as has been proven. Man City don’t do that, Man City tend to do it in a different way. I don’t think Haaland and Kane fits into their financial structure.
“From the money that Dortmund want, I don’t think City are held to ransom. The only way that Haaland goes, in my opinion, is if he sits out his contract for another year and then the release clause kicks in. That’s the only way.”
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TIF Thoughts on Jason Cundy’s comments on Erling Braut Haaland…
Cundy’s comments are backed up by the figures, with Kevin De Bruyne’s £55m move in 2015 still their record signing, so it would be a bit of a push for them to more or less treble their record this season to bring Haaland in. And with football finances worldwide having taken a major hit in the past 12 months, it’s hard to see if they’ll have any competition to try and sign him for the full fee this summer.
They might be better off holding off one more year and chancing their arm next summer when he might be a little bit more within their price range.
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