Manchester City's stance on signing Erling Haaland this summer

Fresh reports have emerged on Manchester City's interest in Borussia Dortmund talisman Erling Haaland, claiming the Premier League leaders are prepared to move early for the Norwegian in order to avoid being drawn into a bidding war in 2022.

City's longstanding interest in the forward was first broken by 90min almost a year ago when a source confirmed that Pep Guardiola's team see him as a long-term alternative to Sergio Aguero. The landscape has changed dramatically since then - while Aguero's role has been drastically reduced by injury, Haaland has maintained his frightening upward trajectory.

Aguero has spent the vast majority of 2020/21 on the sidelines with a variety of fitness issues, and is yet to extend his contract beyond the summer. Reports have conflicted on his future, and even though the broad consensus is that he should eventually sign a one-year extension, the Premier League leaders are leaving nothing to chance.

That leads them back to Haaland, whose form in Germany has exceeded the limits of any superlative you can throw at him.

There were reservations over the sustainability of his form after his lightning-fast start to life in the German Bundesliga, but he has now scored 38 times in his 39 appearances for Dortmund and is showing no signs of slowing down.

His career strike rate is frightening, averaging more than a goal per game for club and country since he joined Red Bull Salzburg from Molde in January 2019. And according to a report by The Mirror, City have now decided they can wait no longer to make their move.

Their urgency stems from a £68m release clause in Haaland's contract that comes into effect in the summer of 2022. That presents enormous value for money, and basically guarantees his departure, provided his form keeps up at anything close to current levels.

City are all too aware of that and want to get ahead of the pack - even if that means paying as much as £100m to land him a year early.

Should such a bid arrive, it seems likely to force Dortmund into selling. The German club are bracing for record-breaking losses in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and, according to reports in Germany, are set to dramatically reduce their asking price for another key asset in Jadon Sancho.

That being the case, it would make no financial sense for them to reject the chance to boost their coffers by an extra £30m or so - even if it means losing their star striker earlier than planned.