Martin Odegaard has joked that Norwegian teammate Erling Haaland needs to move to Arsenal if he's going to end up in the Premier League.
Manchester City have reportedly agreed terms with Haaland's representatives. As per Sportsmail, City are now expected to trigger the 21-year-old striker's £63million release clause, and if all goes according to plan, what is likely to be a five-year deal should be sealed in the next week or so. The forward would also become the Premier League's highest-paid player as a financial package of more than £500,000 per week is reportedly on the table.
London rivals Chelsea had been linked with a move for the 21-year-old for some time, but their pursuit of the marksman appears to have cooled in recent months. With Romelu Lukaku, Kai Havertz and Timo Werner already on the books and ongoing uncertainty over the Blues' new owners, it would be a huge surprise if Haaland ultimately arrived in west London.
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Nevertheless, with Arsenal needing two strikers in the summer - especially as it's looking more and more likely that both Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah will leave the club on a free transfer when their respective contracts run out at the end of June - fans are hoping for Edu to land a big name.
Of course, no-one is expecting them to sign Haaland, but the Gunners faithful have probably thought about it at least. Now Odegaard has joked that he needs to move to the Emirates, if he is to come to England as expected this summer.
“He’s a funny guy, he’s a good guy and a good friend of mine," he told Stadium Astro. "A great player of course. We will see what he will do, but if he’s coming to England he needs to come to us, of course."
It seems more likely that Haaland will go to City. That in turn could be a boost for Arsenal, however, as they continue their pursuit of Etihad star, Gabriel Jesus.
football.london understands that Jesus is among the shortlisted profiles who could arrive in north London at the end of the current campaign. The Brazilian international's representatives have held talks with Edu over the last few months but the player still refused to speak about a potential summer transfer, claiming he is focused on the remainder of the season at this moment in time.
“Not time to think about this,” he said when quizzed about leaving Pep Guardiola's side. “You expect me to say this and it’s true. Not time to think about this, now is the best moment of the season. I want to enjoy it, keep focussed on my teammates to fight for the Premier League.
"I’ve won with my teammates three times already so I know how it feels and I want to again. We have a tough game on Tuesday against Real Madrid, a tough opponent. That’s my focus.”
