Mino Raiola drops hint about Erling Haaland future as top clubs circle brilliant striker

We reckon we’d almost prefer Erling Haaland this summer to Kylian Mbappe – if both were offered in a hypothetical world.

That’s how good the young Norwegian is. Haaland has 27 goals this season – and he missed a chunk of it with injury.

His release-clause of around £60m comes active in the summer of 2022, meaning if Borussia Dortmund were keen on getting more for his services, they will have to cash in at the end of this season.

Haaland’s agent is Mino Raiola, the controversial, outspoken Italian, who we actually think is so divisive, it could stop Liverpool pursuing a client of his.

Raiola has explained how there are four clubs in England who could buy Haaland, which we assume is ourselves, the Manchester clubs and Chelsea.

“It is obvious that everybody is looking at Erling as one of those potential new future stars because it’s so difficult to do what he does at his age at his level,” he told BBC Sport.

“He will be one of the future stars of the next decade because we see that stars such as Ibrahimovic, Ronaldo and Messi are coming to an age where everyone asks themselves: ‘How long can we still enjoy them?’ So everyone is looking for the new generation.

“Only a maximum of 10 clubs can afford to buy [Haaland] and give the platform you would like after you’ve been in Dortmund… and four of those clubs are in [England].

“I don’t think there’s a sports director or trainer in the world who would say ‘not interested’. It’s like saying: ‘Is there a Formula 1 team who would not be interested in having Lewis Hamilton?'”

It’s obvious Liverpool need a centre-forward of Haaland’s calibre come the summer – but our chances of securing one rest on whether we qualify for next season’s Champions League – something we assumed was a given at Christmas when we were top of the table.

If we fail to finish in the top four, our list of targets will be significantly less exciting.

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