Real Madrid should sign Haaland ahead of Mbappe - Valdano

Former Real Madrid player, coach and general manager Jorge Valdano has urged the club to sign Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund ahead of Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappe.

Haaland's rise to prominence is well documented, with the Norwegian scoring 37 goals in as many appearances in all competitions since his Dortmund debut in January of last year, having previously shone at Red Bull Salzburg in Austria.

Mbappe, meanwhile, has continued to find the net with regularity for PSG, but his long-term development has been called into question due to the relative ease with which his club continues to dominate Ligue 1.

The World Cup winner himself recently admitted that he was giving consideration to his future, with his current contract in the French capital set to expire at the end of next season.

A move to Madrid has long been mooted for Mbappe, but Valdano feels that Real supremo Florentino Perez should prioritise Haaland instead.

“I would sign Haaland before Mbappe,” the 65-year-old told Onda Cero. “He moves in small and large spaces, he scores with great regularity.

“I understand that Mbappe is a star, but I'm very impressed with Haaland. He scores goals of all types.”

Martin Odegaard, meanwhile, completed a loan move to Arsenal on Wednesday after failing to nail down a starting spot under Zinedine Zidane.

Valdano, however, feels that Odegaard should have bided his time this season, with patience required for any player with aspirations of becoming a regular fixture at the Santiago Bernabeu.

“It doesn't seem to me that Odegaard played badly when he had his chance, but he lacked a degree of daring and a greater sense of risk,” Valdano said of the 22-year-old.

“He was too close to Casemiro and lacked prominence for the final pass, which is what is expected of Odegaard.

“But that has to do with confidence, and I think time would have given him that. He lacked patience. A Madrid player should have a greater capacity for suffering, he must not give up too soon.

“And even less so being so young and competing for the position of two stars like [Toni] Kroos and [Luka] Modric. They are not just any two players.”