Real Madrid could reportedly include Achraf Hakimi in their offer to try and prise Erling Haaland away from Borussia Dortmund.
The 19-year-old has become one of the most highly-rated youngsters in Europe this season after scoring 40 goals and providing nine assists in just 33 appearances across spells with RB Salzburg and Dortmund.
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Goals have been a problem for Los Blancos this season having managed 49 in their 27 La Liga games to date, and putting that into greater context, rivals and current league leaders Barcelona have scored 63 in the same number of games as they boast a two-point lead in the standings.
From Karim Benzema’s goal droughts to Luka Jovic’s struggles at the Bernabeu this season, Zinedine Zidane will perhaps need to address that area of his squad ahead of next year to avoid similar issues.
According to AS, Real Madrid are said to hold a number of key advantages to land Haaland, with Martin Odegaard said to be selling the club to his compatriot, while Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke is said to be close to Madrid chief Florentino Perez.
Further, Haaland’s agent Mino Raiola has already said publicly that he wishes to take one of his star clients to the Spanish capital, and so AS believe that things could be lining up for Haaland to get another big move despite only joining Dortmund in January.
While all that is helpful for Real Madrid, that doesn’t necessarily mean that a deal is certain to be done. However, AS go on to suggest that Hakimi could be offered in a swap deal to help convince Dortmund to do business, and so it remains to be seen if that helps the two parties reach an agreement.
Given Hakimi, 21, has impressed during his loan spell for the past two seasons with the Bundesliga giants, such an offer could appeal to them. In turn, that could be a crucial boost for Real Madrid as they look to address an issue that has arguably been a problem since former talisman Cristiano Ronaldo left as they regularly bagged 90 goals or more each campaign during his prime.