Manchester City could face battle to keep hold of star forward this summer

Manchester City will be hoping to close the gap on Premier League leaders Arsenal when they travel to London to face Crystal Palace on Saturday. 

The reigning champions currently find themselves five points behind The Gunners, who don’t play until Sunday following their Europa League exploits on Thursday.

Pep Guardiola’s side still have to face Arsenal next month, and the title race therefore looks likely to go down to the wire.

In the meantime, it appears that City may face a battle to keep hold of one of their most important players this summer.

According to The Independent, Spanish giants Real Madrid are preparing to make an offer for Erling Haaland as early as this summer.

The European champions are reportedly planning to sign a generation of young stars, with Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham also on their list of targets.

Haaland, 22, only joined City last summer, but has taken the Premier League by storm during his debut season so far.

The Norway international has scored 33 goals in 34 games across all competitions, including 27 goals in 25 Premier League matches.

Haaland could be the subject of interest from Real Madrid this summer

Real Madrid reportedly view the striker as a replacement for Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema, who is 35-years-old and is currently set to be out of contract this summer.

Haaland is contracted to City until 2027 and is said to be happy at The Etihad, although it is also claimed that he isn’t viewed by those in charge of the club as a player that will remain with City for a long time.

The Norwegian has boasted an incredible scoring record at every club that he has played for so far, scoring 29 times in 27 games for RB Salzburg and 86 times in 89 games for Dortmund.

City do also have World Cup winner Julian Alvarez at their disposal, although the Argentina international has seen his playing time largely limited to substitute appearances, with Haaland starting the majority of matches.