MAN CITY TARGET NEW HAALAND CONTRACT

Manchester City want to secure Erling Haaland to a new contract — in a bid to avoid the prospect of an Etihad exodus next year.

Haaland has won successive Premier League titles since moving to Manchester in a £51million deal from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2022 and still has three years remaining on his contract. But a clause in his agreement with City, allowing the Norwegian striker to move to any club outside England willing to pay £175million, kicked in this summer.

And the buy-out fee will now drop in each of the remaining three seasons left on his deal. City are already preparing for life without manager Pep Guardiola in the event that the Catalan decides not to sign a contract extension and brings an end to his trophy-laden nine-year reign when his current deal runs out next summer.

There are also whispers around the club that director of football Txiki Begiristain could also depart if Guardiola decides he has achieved everything possible at the club.

Begiristain, a former Barcelona team-mate of Guardiola’s, has played an instrumental role in City’s success with his excellence in the transfer market. He provided the same services at the Nou Camp before being recruited by City alongside chief executive Ferran Soriano in 2012. Guardiola, Begiristain and Soriano are close friends and business partners as well as colleagues.

City have won six of the last seven Premier League titles and have just become the first English club to be crowned champions in four successive seasons.

Guardiola, who has also lifted the Champions League, two FA Cups, four Carabao Cups, the Club World Cup and the European Super Cup, hints before last week’s FA Cup Final that his own motivation could be an issue when he decides whether to take his time in East Manchester to a decade and beyond.

City will be prepared for the day he does decide to quit. But they are still hoping that the prospect of rebuilding City’s squad one more time will be enough to keep the manager happy.

Securing Haaland’s future is also a priority over the coming months.

The 23-year-old scored 52 goals in his debut season as City became only the second club to win a Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup Treble. And although he suffered injuries and a dip in form as the Blues retained the title, he still claimed another Golden Boot by scoring 27 times in the league and 38 in all competitions. — Mirror.