Manchester City have been incredibly happy with the progress of Erling Haaland and are now are preparing a new contract offer for the Norwegian after a release clause in his current deal was removed. Haaland made his move to City from Borussia Dortmund last summer for the relatively low transfer fee of £51.2million, which was inserted into his contract when he agreed to move to Germany from Red Bull Salzburg in December 2019.

The 22-year-old’s City contract also contained a clause that permitted him to leave for £150m in the summer of 2024 — at the end of his second season — if a club met the terms and he wanted to make the move. However, the clause was specifically linked to Pep Guardiola’s future in Manchester and was cancelled when the Catalan renewed his own contract in November, committing himself to the club until 2025.

The exact terms of Haaland’s City contract have never been revealed and it is unclear whether similar release clauses kick in later during in his time in England. City, though, are keen to extend his time at the club to reflect his stellar first season in English football, and there is a belief that the Norway striker is open to fresh talks.

While there have been intermittent links to Real Madrid during Haaland’s first season at City, and although a move to the Santiago Bernabeu has always been an ambition of his, he is said to be extremely happy at his current club.

The striker believes he is at the right club to improve as a player, and is delighted that a series of promises made by City during negotiations to buy him last spring have been kept. For example, ensuring that he is looked after physically. “I don’t know what he’s done in Dortmund but we take care of him 24 hours,” Guardiola said recently. “We have incredible doctors and physios, they are behind him every second of the day.”

Erling Haaland has scored 47 goals so far in his first season with the club, the most by any player representing an English club. He is also on the verge of breaking Premier League’s all-time record of 34 goals in a season, now being just one short of that mark. Follow news about your favorite Football team and explore good betting odds in Nextbet.