Erling Haaland's Agent Indicates 'Big Chance' of Summer Transfer

Mino Raiola name-dropped four clubs to which he could steer his star client, who is under contract at Dortmund through 2024.

The January transfer window opens up in a few weeks, but it's the summer transfer window that takes the focus on Friday after some suggestive comments from Erling Haaland's agent.

Mino Raiola told SPORT1 in Germany that there is a "big chance" Haaland will be sold by Borussia Dortmund this summer. Haaland is under contract until 2024 and is among the most highly valued and coveted players in the world, but the 21-year-old Norwegian reportedly has a much more palatable release clause that is said to kick in this summer and could help facilitate his move elsewhere.

"Maybe this summer, maybe the summer after. But there is a big chance that Erling will leave this summer. We will see," Raiola said. "He can and will take the next step. Bayern [Munich], Real [Madrid], Barcelona, [Manchester] City—these are the big clubs he can go to. City have won the championship five times in the last few years, much more than United.

"We all knew when we moved to Dortmund that this step would come."

Haaland has been a revelation ever since bursting onto the scene with Salzburg in 2019, and he has only validated the hype around him at Dortmund. He has 51 goals in 51 Bundesliga games and was the Champions League's top scorer last season with 10 goals and has 23 goals in 19 career appearances in Europe's top competition.

Raiola indicated that nothing would be sorted until after the season. Dortmund is currently four points behind Bayern Munich after being edged by the perennial Bundesliga winner in last weekend's edition of Der Klassiker. Haaland scored in that match, and he also scored twice off the bench for Dortmund in its final Champions League group game this week. Dortmund settled for a third-place group finish, though, and will compete in the Europa League knockout stage as a result.

"We will tell BVB what our idea is and BVB will tell us their ideas. But no decision will be made in the winter," Raiola said. "He is someone who wants to develop, who is looking for new challenges. And of course it's also a question of the alternative. You only change if you have a better alternative."

Haaland's father, Alf-Inge Haaland, played for Manchester City during his career, but when asked about Raiola's comments on Friday, City manager Pep Guardiola refused to be drawn in on the speculation, saying, "Next question. Don't ask me about that."

Finances are no issue for City, which attempted to sign Harry Kane from Tottenham to fill its void at striker this past summer. The same cannot be said for Barcelona and Real Madrid, who have soaring debt figures. That's not stopping Real Madrid from becoming the likely landing spot for Kylian Mbappé, should he not re-sign with PSG when his contract expires this coming summer. Real made a play for Mbappé this past summer and can sign to him to a pre-contract as early as Jan. 1.

As for Bayern, which has poached numerous stars from Dortmund in the past—including Robert Lewandowski—in an effort to remain the dominant team in Germany, its now-former CEO indicated the club would not be in the mix for Haaland earlier this year, with Karl-Heinz Rummenigge saying, "He will be taken by the club that offers the highest salary. I don’t think it’s possible for any Bundesliga club, not even Bayern [to bring him]."