Manchester City leading Manchester United in race for Brazilian superstar dubbed as ‘Erling Haaland 2.0’ | OneFootball

Manchester City are favourites ahead of bitter rivals Manchester United to sign a Brazilian star who has sparked comparisons to Erling Haaland. 

The future of Pep Guardiola’s side has been a key factor in Hugo Viana’s short tenure as sporting director so far, with City officials scouting the transfer market for potential academy additions who could one day walk the same path as Phil Foden, Rico Lewis and Nico O’Reilly.

Equally, there is a lack of depth in Pep Guardiola’s ranks when it comes to the number nine position as Haaland – who has scored 145 goals in 167 games for the Premier League side since he joined the club in 2022 – is the only native striker. Omar Marmoush, who can also operate down the middle, has moved into a deeper role since his arrival from Eintracht Frankfurt.

Impressively though, Haaland has continued to exceed expectations this season by scoring 21 goals in as many games, most recently scoring the winner goal in a monumental 2-1 Champions League victory over Real Madrid in Spain in midweek to give the Blues a huge vial of confidence as they close in on Round of 16 qualification.

Manchester City could benefit from adding greater depth and goals to their star-studded frontline in the January 2026 transfer window amid interest in Bournemouth wantaway star Antoine Semenyo, who will be available for £65 million next month.

As of late, Manchester City have overtaken local rivals Manchester United as favourites in the race to sign Bahia and Brazil wonderkid Dell, according to TEAMtalk, who was a standout at the recent Under-17 World Cup held in Qatar. 

Dell, 17, has emerged as one of the stories of the competition despite City’s pre-existing interest in the striker, whose stellar campaign in the Middle East merited the Bronze Boot for finishing as the third-highest scorer at the tournament.

The teenage forward has already featured for Bahia’s senior squad, who are part of the City Football Group (CFG), and is known in his homeland as the ‘Haaland of Sertao’. Ironically, he could follow in the Norway international’s footsteps to the Etihad Stadium.

The report has also cited sources who claim that Manchester City and the CFG hierarchy are discussing Dell’s future actively, given that the teenager is eligible to move to Europe next summer. Much like Endrick’s famous transfer to Real Madrid in 2022, an early deal could be finalised early in 2026.

It is understood that Manchester City being deemed favourites has come as a result of Dell being open to moving next summer – and whether his next chapter begins in England or elsewhere in the CFG circle – he will represent the blue half of Manchester one day.

The addition of Dell would open the gateway for current City Football Academy forwards such as Mahamadou Sangare or Divin Mubama – who is currently on loan at EFL Championship side Stoke City – to move up to the first-team squad under Guardiola’s eye.

Mubama has been linked with Crystal Palace lately owing to his improving performances under Mark Robins at the bet365 Stadium, while Oliver Glasner looks to fill a potential void of the outstanding interest in Jean-Philippe Mateta ahead of the January transfer window.