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Erling Haaland to Manchester City is not yet a done and dusted deal, according to insiders close to the Borussia Dortmund striker.

The powerful Norwegian striker is, alongside Kylian Mbappe, one of the world’s most-sought after strikers. His formidable record of 82 goals in 86 appearances for Borussia Dortmund has made him desirable to every top club in the game. And his £63m exit clause – which becomes active this summer – means it is almost a guarantee that Haaland will be on the move.

As such, the striker is widely reported to have agreed a move to Manchester City. Paying him astronomical wages – and with a transfer package that will likely actually surpass £100m – it seems the player is destined for the Etihad.

To that end, Haaland has reportedly chosen to sign there ahead of rival moves elsewhere, including Real Madrid.

And with Dortmund settling on a Liverpool target as his replacement in their attack, it seems a matter of when not if the deal is confirmed.

However, according to AS, the deal between Haaland and City is not as cut and dried as previously made out. Citing ‘sources close to the player’, they claim the 21-year-old is yet to sign on the dotted line for City. Furthermore, they claim Haaland is still dreaming of a possible move to Real Madrid this summer.

Los Blancos are themselves in the market for a new striker this summer and are widely expected to sign Mbappe. However, they too are awaiting a final decision from him, amid claims he may still extend his deal at PSG.

And were that to happen, Real may yet come back in for Haaland.

AS claims Haaland would actually prefer the move to the Bernabeu. As such, they claim Haaland is willing to wait to see how Mbappe’s future plays out.

Gabriel Jesus future draws Guardiola comments

Manchester City have, by and large, operated without a striker now for the best part of two seasons. Following Sergio Aguero’s reduced role, he was allowed to leave on a free transfer for Barcelona last summer.

His exit ought to have given Gabriel Jesus more chances to start in City’s attack. However, until just recently, he’s rarely been afforded chances to shine by Pep Guardiola.

However, he’s currently playing the best football of his career at City. And his new-found confidence saw Jesus score four times in Saturday’s 5-1 destruction of Watford.

That display comes in the wake of reports that Arsenal are readying an approach to sign the Brazilian this summer.

Addressing the striker’s future, Guardiola remains his usual relaxed self.

“I want to tell you something; Gabriel [Jesus] is our player,” Guardiola said. “I don’t know what is going to happen, but he is a Man City player.

“When he has days like today, I am the happiest man in the world! Every player is happy when they play 90 minutes all the time but at the end of the season whether he wants to extend, stay or leave, I don’t know or don’t care. We have less than one month.

“My only concern is the players will do everything to try and win, after that no one knows what will happen. If one person in the world deserves nights like this, it’s him.

“There is no one on the backroom staff or who knows him that isn’t happy for him. When you are so positive and generous as he is in every way, life and football can reward you.

“When he has situations like this we’re happy for him because he’s so generous. It doesn’t matter what position he’s in, we know how he fights for his mates. He’s fantastic.”

Guardiola, meanwhile, has addressed how City’s 5-1 win over the Hornets affects the title race.

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