Manchester City are increasingly confident Erling Haaland will sign a new contract. Talks are ongoing with the Norwegian striker over a significantly improved deal - worth up to £500,000 a week.
That basic salary would make Haaland the highest-paid player in the Premier League, surpassing the £400,000 threshold that team-mate Kevin De Bruyne is pocketing.
And that would also put the 24-year-old forward in the top-earning league in Europe, with Barcelona's Dutch midfielder Frenkie de Jong currently topping the list on a whopping £600,000-a-week.
In the latest negotiations in Norway with the Haaland family and Brazilian "super agent" Rafaela Pimenta, Man City's board of directors received positive feedback.
The former Dortmund star has two and a half seasons left on the £375,000-a-week contract he signed when he moved to the Etihad for £60m in July 2022. However, given the Norwegian's excellent form and importance, City are keen to secure his long-term future at the club. The new terms will keep him at the Etihad until the end of the 2028-29 season.
One issue that still needs to be resolved is Haaland's current £150m release clause, which the Citizens want to remove but Haaland's advisers are adamant about keeping.
A possible solution would be for both parties to agree a transfer fee of £200m, which would better reflect Haaland's rising market valuation.
Haaland is now considered the best striker in the world as he continues to break goalscoring records. The former Molde and RB Salzburg striker has scored an incredible 105 goals in 113 appearances for Man City, 75 of which have come in 77 Premier League games.
During his time in England, Haaland won consecutive Premier League titles with Man City, in addition to the treble in his first season.
And despite Man City's recent struggles - a run of four consecutive defeats for the first time under Pep Guardiola - Haaland is still happy in Manchester and intends to stay longer.
The 24-year-old striker has just had an excellent match with the Norwegian national team in the Nations League. In the 5-0 victory over Kazakhstan, the Norwegian striker scored a hat-trick, thereby helping the home team gain the right to be promoted to the Nations League A.
