He’s Here!!!! Manchester City Confirm Haaland Signing

Manchester City fans can relax – Erling Haaland has officially signed for the blues on a five year contract from Borussia Dortmund.

The blues announced in May that they had agreed, in principle, a deal with Haaland to join the blues on 1^st July, and today, the striker put pen to paper on his contract.

And the 21 year old striker, who tweeted images of himself in a City short as a child over the weekend, expressed his delight at joining the blues.

“This is a proud day for me and my family. I have always watched City and have loved doing so in recent seasons. You can’t help but admire their style of play, it’s exciting and they create a lot of chances, which is perfect for a player like me.

“There are so many world-class players in this squad and Pep is one of the greatest managers of all-time, so I believe I am in the right place to fulfil my ambitions.

“I want to score goals, win trophies and improve as a footballer and I am confident I can do that here. This is a great move for me and I can’t wait to get started in pre-season.”

The blues played the whole of last season without a recognised striker after Sergio Aguero moved to Barcelona, and feeding off the passes from Joao Cancelo and Kevin de Bruyne will be a mouth-watering prospect for next season.

City had been labelled as frontrunners to sign the Norwegian star, but faced competition from Real Madrid and Barcelona, as well as being linked to a number of English sides. However, Haaand considered the blues as the perfect next step in a career that has seen him score an incredible 92 goals in just 121 appearances for Molde, Red Bull Salzburg and Borussia Dortmund.

If that’s not enough, Haaland has scored 20 goals in just 21 international matches and is on course to becoming Norway’s all-time leading goalscorer.

The City Connection

The blues were always in the running to sign the striker, given his previous connection to the club. His father, Alfie Haaland, signed for City from Leeds in 2000 for a fee of £2.5m, but less than a year later, his career came to an abrupt end after a challenge by Roy Keane left the Norwegian requiring surgery, and Haaland ultimately hung up his boots.

But Erling grew up in City blue and has posted many pictures of himself in a City short at various stages in his life, and there was almost an inevitablility that the youngster would end up in Manchester one day.

“I was born in England,” said Haaland after signing. “I have been a City fan my whole life. I know a lot about the club. In the end, deciding to sign was down to two things. I feel at home here and I feel I can develop and get the best out of my game at City.

“I like the style of play. I like the attacking football. I like the positive vibe we have when City play football.

“This is what I like a lot, so I think it’s a good fit.”

Not a Bad Fee Either

Haaland was rumoured to be costing the blues in excess of £65m, but the true figure is more around the £51m mark, which isn’t bad in today’s market for a proven goalscorer. And, if he can hit the same form that he had whilst playing for his previous clubs, that fee will pay itself in no time.

Welcome to Manchester, Erling.