Dortmund planning to repeat Sancho transfer trick in Erling Haaland talks

Borussia Dortmund are reportedly preparing a huge financial package to keep Erling Haaland beyond next summer.

The Norwegian forward has been in blistering form since signing for the Germans at the start of 2020, finding the net 70 times in just 69 games.

There is widespread speculation that this season promises to be his last at Signal Iduna Park, with agent Mino Raiola already busily looking for his next move.

Under normal circumstances, Haaland would likely fetch close to the current world record transfer fee of £198million which was paid by Paris Saint-Germain to land Neymar in 2017.

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But the 21-year-old has a release clause in his contract which will make him available for a cut-price £68m.

That clause is set to become active at the end of the current campaign, meaning all of Europe’s top clubs will be in the mix for his signature.

However, according to Sky Sports, Dortmund are hoping to delay that clause until 2023 and double Haaland’s current salary as a sweetener to remain with the club.

The report suggests that Haaland will be offered a double-your-money contract offer of around €18m, twice as much as his existing €9m-per-year deal.

This new proposed contract would come with the proviso that he stays with the Bundesliga giants for another season, before he is free to leave the following year.

It’s a similar ploy to the one used by Dortmund in negotiations with Jadon Sancho over the past two summer transfer windows.

In 2020 Manchester United hoped to sign the England international but the player ultimately shook hands on a gentleman’s agreement which meant he was free to make the switch to Old Trafford 12 months later.

Despite his release clause being relatively low, the complete financial commitment could be more than £300m, once his salary and agent fees are added to the equation.