CAPE TOWN – RB Leipzig have confirmed their interest in Norweigian hotshot striker Erling Haaland, who currently turns out for sister club Red Bull Salzburg.
The 19-year-old son of former Leeds United and Manchester City star Alf Inge Haaland is also a target of Manchester United, whose manager admitted meeting with the player to talk about a transfer to Old Trafford.
Leipzig have now entered the fray, with CEO Oliver Mintzlaff confirming they too have held talks with the teenage striker, who is the hottest property in Europe at the minute.
“It’s the same cliché again: we can buy everything and we can get everything and we can do everything.
“Unfortunately, we can’t, otherwise Haaland would already be with us,” he was quoted by German sports website Sport1.
“Yes, we met with him. We are interested in the player, great interest. He listened to it, and is very open to a move. He would like to change [clubs] in summer at the latest.
“It is nt easy. There’s Manchester United, Juventus, Borussia Dortmund. There are a few other clubs as well,” Mintzlaff added.
According to reports, Manchester United are keen to sign the player during the January transfer window and loan him back to Leipzig until the end of the season.
“He is a player I like,” United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who gave Haaland his big break at Molde, was quoted as saying in the media.
“We are looking for good players all the time. Erling has had a good development, so he has to develop further wherever he decided.
“I don’t need to talk so much about him, but we as a team always look for players who can complement the others we have, and then we see what we end up with,” said Solskjaer.
Haaland has had an impressive season for Red Bull Salzburg so far and has found the back of the net 28 times in 22 games in all competitions.