BARCELONA have reportedly made their opening bid of £90million for Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland.
Ronald Koeman’s side are said to be keen to steal a march on LaLiga rivals Real Madrid by swooping for the Norwegian superstar this summer.
Both Manchester clubs, Chelsea and Barcelona are believed to have the 20-year-old at the top of their transfer wishlist.
Recent reports claimed that Madrid however had won the race to activate the £64.37m (€75m) release clause in Haaland’s contract next year.
Haaland has reportedly even told Dortmund that he will stay for at least one more season but the Bundesliga side could choose to cash in.
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And Ian McGarry of the Transfer Window podcast has claimed that Barca president Joan Laporta has already opened the bidding.
He said: “Barcelona have made an initial bid that we understand to be €105m (£90.1m).
“I suspect that it’s not a bid that they believe will be accepted by Borussia Dortmund, given the valuation of the player is probably upwards of €150m (128.73m).
“However, as all negotiations do they start with a whisper rather than with a shout.
“[Laporta] has effectively made the opening shot if you like to Borussia Dortmund, with regards to trying to fund a deal.”
McGarry’s co-host Duncan Castles then added that Barcelona’s offer is substantially more than what Real are willing to pay for Haaland.
He added: “My information from inside Madrid is that they will not pay more than €75m for Haaland, that’s their position.
“They know the release clause is €75m in a year’s time, they’re not going to go over that.
“If Dortmund are ready to sell this summer, then they’ll say: ‘Here you go Haaland, if you can get yourself out for €75m, we’ll take you and you choose whether you want to come here, assuming we can’t do [Kylian] Mbappe’.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
