Could Real Madrid scare Dortmund into selling Haaland?

Real Madrid will pursue Erling Haaland has one of their top targets in the summer transfer window, but there have been questions about the Dortmund star’s availability.

Last season, Real Madrid had only one player who scored more than five goals in La Liga, and that was starting striker Karim Benzema, who scored 14 goals in 26 appearances. That’s a decent haul, but it’s not nearly enough for the primary goal-scorer at a club like Madrid, which has a rich history of elite attacking talent.

Benzema is one of the world’s best center forwards, but that’s because his talent goes beyond goals. Still, Real Madrid need someone who can bang home around 30 goals in a season, and there are two young players who can do exactly that.

Kylian Mbappe is Real’s dream target, but he almost certainly won’t be available until 2021, if at all. So the next best option is Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland, but there have been rumors that there’s no chance BVB let him go.

Despite the indications that Dortmund will make every effort to keep Haaland for the 2020-2021 season, Marco Ruiz of AS reports that Dortmund are increasingly afraid of Real Madrid’s interest in Haaland.

The Norway international chose Dortmund over Manchester United at the winter transfer window, because he knew the Bundesliga giants would give him more of a chance to shine. Haaland’s decision has paid off handsomely, but he’s been so good that he’s already exceeded the value of his 75 million euro release clause that takes hold next winter.

When Real Madrid come calling, most star players answer, and Haaland would likely jump at the opportunity. If Dortmund wait until the winter transfer window, they risk losing Haaland for far less than his market value. But Dortmund also don’t want to lose Haaland in the first place, since Jadon Sancho‘s expected departure, perhaps to United, will exponentially increase the striker’s importance to the team.

The report from AS mentions the great relationship between Dortmund and Real Madrid, whose star fullback Achraf Hakimi recently completed a wildly successful two-year loan spell with the Bundesliga club.

Haaland’s agent also happens to be Mino Raiola, who proclaimed his desire to “bring a great player to Real Madrid” in the summer transfer window. Many people assumed Raiola was talking about long-time Zinedine Zidane target Paul Pogba, who is destined to finally leave Manchester United, but he could just as easily be talking about Haaland. At 19 and with bags of goals in his future, Haaland would be a bigger, less expensive signing for Real.