Real Madrid will make another move for Kylian Mbappe in January, but if they fail to tempt the Paris Saint-Germain star to Spain then Erling Haaland is their Plan B.
Mbappe has come close to joining Real Madrid in the past and despite being left hanging by the French forward, the Spanish giants remain very keen to bring him to the Santiago Bernabeu.
He is out of contract at PSG in the summer, with the possibility that he could sign a 12 month extension with the club, but if he has not done so by the end of the year then he will be free to negotiate with other clubs from January 1.
Spanish publication AS reports that Real Madrid will make their move but will set Mbappe a deadline of January 15 to make up his mind on whether he is staying in Paris for another year or is up for joining Los Blancos.
The report states that if Mbappe has not decided to join Real Madrid by January 15 then they will turn their attention to Manchester City’s Erling Haaland.
There is belief in the Spanish capital that Haaland would be keen to make the move, linking up with his former Borussia Dortmund teammate Jude Bellingham.
The Norwegian has a house in Spain and visits regularly, giving Real Madrid confidence that they can tempt him away from the Premier League champions.
Haaland will not be an easy deal to do with Manchester City who will not want to lose their superstar striker who did have a release clause in his contract but it has now been removed.
The Athletic reported earlier this year that a clause allowed him to leave for £150m in the summer of 2024 but that is no longer the case.
The clause was linked with manager Pep Guardiola’s position at the club and when the Spaniard signed a two-year extension in November 2022, this canceled the Haaland release clause.
Whether another release clause kicks in later in the Norwegian’s contract is unclear.