Erling Haaland has been warned it is “too soon” to be considering a switch from Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid, with Steve McManaman holding up Luka Jovic as an example to the teenage striker of how things can go wrong in Spain.
The Blancos raided the Bundesliga ranks for another frontman during the summer window of 2019.
Serbia international Jovic was snapped up on the back of a prolific campaign with Eintracht Frankfurt.
The 22-year-old arrived in Spain with a big reputation, but has seen his progress stunted by a lack of game time for Real.
Zinedine Zidane is now being linked with alternative options in the final third of the field, with competition and assistance required for Karim Benzema.
Haaland’s stunning exploits across the 2019-20 campaign have seen him mooted as a possible target.
The 19-year-old only traded Red Bull Salzburg for Dortmund in January, but that has done little to curb the speculation surrounding his future.
McManaman can see why Real would be keen on a player with such potential, but he feels Haaland’s ongoing development will be best served in Germany – especially as Madrid are also said to be looking at Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappe.
“It’s too soon for him to leave Borussia Dortmund. He seems to be happy and more importantly he’s playing regularly and scoring goals,” McManaman told HorseRacing.net of the Haaland rumours.
“He should stay, he should play and he should get a couple of more years under his belt.
“He should move when he’s a more experienced player after playing 200 or so games for Dortmund and playing 20 to 30 games in the Champions League, which he should do.
“He can’t just go and jump ship and go to Real Madrid. You’ve seen what’s happened to Luka Jovic this season, he’s hardly kicked a ball for Real Madrid after having a wonderful season last year in Germany.
“Haaland doesn’t need that pressure. On top of that, I’ve heard that Real Madrid are interested in Kylian Mbappe instead, so both of them don’t need to be there at the same time.”
Haaland has hit 40 goals across all competitions this season, in just 33 appearances, with Dortmund eager to ensure that they remain the ones to benefit from his undoubted ability for the foreseeable future.