According to reports, La Liga giants FC Barcelona have a ‘defined plan’ to secure their ‘dream signing’ of Erling Haaland from Manchester City.

Man City paid around £51m to sign Haaland from Borussia Dortmund during the 2022 summer transfer window.

Haaland was considered a sure-fire success ahead of his move to the Etihad, but he has arguably surpassed expectations as he has established himself as one of the best strikers in the world.

So far this season, he has 15 goals in his 16 appearances across all competitions. Overall, he has 105 goals in his 114 outings for Man City.

The 24-year-old is under contract until 2027 but has been consistently linked with an exit in recent months. It’s been reported that Man City are in talks with the forward as they are keen to tie him down to a new contract on improved terms.

Earlier this month, a report from journalist Graeme Bailey claimed Man City are “increasingly confident” of getting Haaland to sign a new contract and has “come to terms” with his improved deal including a release clause.

Bailey said: “City are confident about agreeing terms. They’ve been trying for two years.

“Obviously, the issue has always been the release clauses, which are not going to be removed from the contracts in any way, shape or form. It’s not going to happen. City have come to terms with that.

“Their hope is that they can be altered in terms of when they come into play. If he signs a new deal for instance in the next few weeks or months, which City hope, that will, from my understanding, mean it won’t be allowed to be triggered until 2026 rather than 2025.

“They’re not massively worried as the clauses are going to be huge anyway for teams to meet that. And Haaland has always had these in, they make sure these are in there for the long-term safety of the player.

“It’s just the situation that every contract Haaland has ever signed has had release clauses and that’s not going to change for this one. It’s nothing to do with him, or an exit strategy or anything like that, it’s just how they work.”

A new report in Spain says ‘everything indicates’ Haaland ‘will’ sign a new contract, but his new ‘exit clause could be decisive’.

It’s claimed that the ‘clause would be close to 100 million euros, which is ‘a high figure but acceptable for Barcelona’.

Barcelona president Joan Laporta already has a ‘defined plan’ to recruit Haaland, who remains their ‘dream signing’ as they scour the market for a striker to replace Robert Lewandowski. The report explains.

‘Laporta’s plan is not to sign Haaland immediately but to wait for the right moment.

‘With Robert Lewandowski secured as the team’s offensive reference until 2025, the president plans to make the final move for the Norwegian in the summer of 2026.

‘Then Haaland, who will remain at an ideal age to lead any project, would be ready to assume Lewandowski’s testimony and become the new point of reference for the Blaugrana attack.

‘The relationship between Joan Laporta and Rafaela Pimienta, representative of Haaland, will be key in this operation.

‘Both maintain a fluid contact, and the president is convinced that this good rapport can be a decisive factor for the Norwegian striker to choose the Camp Nou as his next destination.’