REAL MADRID are desperate to sign a new No9 this summer – with Erling Haaland the favourite to join.
The red-hot Norwegian star, 19, only joined Borussia Dortmund from Red Bull Salzburg in January in an £18.5million deal.
Real Madrid have made Erling Haaland their No1 target this summer
But Real Madrid are desperate to fill the void in goals left by Cristiano Ronaldo ever since he joined Juventus in the summer of 2018.
And they could splash out big in order to get back to the top of Spanish – and European – football after a few tricky seasons.
Los Blancos haven’t won the LaLiga title since 2016-17 and have finished third, behind Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, in the past two seasons.
Karim Benzema’s time at the Bernabeu could be coming to an end, with his best years arguably behind him.
Ronaldo has already left and Gareth Bale has very publicly fallen out with boss Zinedine Zidane in the last few months – with the BBC partnership in tatters.
ALL CHANGE UP TOP
Last summer’s big-money buy of Luka Jovic has struggled mightily, scoring just twice in 24 games.
Marca claim he will now be loaned out in a bid to rediscover his form and confidence – with Mariano to be sold permanently after playing just four times this season.
Rodrygo and Vinicius Jr are both hugely talented but very raw, with a proven goalscorer a necessity for Zidane.
And Marca believe Haaland is destined to join the Bernabeu ranks this summer in a deal which could cost up to £100m.
The Norwegian has scored an astounding 36 goals in just 31 matches for Salzburg and Dortmund this season.
Haaland has more than adjusted to the step up in class from the Austrian Bundesliga to the German top-flight.
And Real Madrid are thought to believe he will acclimatise similarly to the LaLiga.
Los Blancos have been chasing Kylian Mbappe for over a year now – but he is likely to cost up to £250m.
With Paris Saint-Germain set to lose Neymar to Barcelona this summer, they’re also unlikely to want to part with Mbappe – particularly with Edinson Cavani set to leave in July, as well.
Neymar copies Borussia Dortmund star Erling Haaland’s celebration after opening scoring for PSG
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
