Erling Haaland to Man City shows Manchester United are losing power battle

Manchester United didn't even stand a chance.

The future of Erling Haaland once looked likely to be the transfer saga of the summer, with Europe's top clubs all readying themselves for a heavyweight clash for his signature. Instead, Manchester City have beaten them all to the punch before the first bell had even rung. Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and United all left in their wake.

The deal is done. City announced the signing of the striker from Borussia Dortmund for a meagre fee of just £51million on Tuesday. That fee increases significantly when agents' fees and bonuses are taken into account, but even an outlay of approximately £86million is an absolute bargain to secure a player with such immense talent — and who still has room to get even better.

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The Norwegian sensation will officially become a Blue on July 1, though the transfer is still subject to the club finalising personal terms with him.

With Madrid and Bayern already having top No.9s still doing excellent things, Barcelona not having the cash and Paris Saint-Germain being a circus, there was no other logical choice other than City, whose needs for a striker were reiterated in their recent Champions League exit, for Haaland. As well as the already established emotional connection due to his father, Alf-Inge, playing for the club the move made perfect sense.

The stars have aligned for the Blues — and the Premier League, for the first time — to welcome one of the soon-to-be best players in the world. If he isn't already.

Despite the Premier League largely being regarded as the world's best division and having the best collection of players, the absolute top stars in the game