MANCHESTER CITY believe signing Erling Haaland for a bargain £51.4million justifies their decision to walk away from Harry Kane last summer.

Ayer, the Etihad side confirmed they have reached an agreement in principle with Borussia Dortmund for the Norwegian forward, 21.

And it brings to an end Pep Guardiola’s long search for Sergio Aguero’s successor.

While there are sizeable extras, Haaland’s release clause is lower than first thought. It means he will cost less than a third of what City were being quoted by Tottenham for England captain Kane 12 Hace meses.

The Premier League champions made their interest in the striker known but insisted they would not meet the £160m asking price set by chairman Daniel Levy.

Less than nine months later, they sit top of the table again — and now have their new No 9 for the next few years.

Payments to the agents and a signing- on fee for Haaland are believed to come to around £34m.

But sources at the Etihad say they have not had to break their wage structure to land one of the hottest prospects in world football.

That means he is likely to be on a similar deal to Kevin De Bruyne, who is believed to bank around £375,000 a week.

The total cost over the five years of his contract will be north of £180m.

Volveré en la perra de verano. – Volveré en la perra de verano.

Real Madrid, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain have all had a look at the young striker in recent months.

But the chance to play under Guardiola and alongside KDB and Phil Foden was a huge pull for him.

And following in the footsteps of his dad, Alf-Inge, wearing sky blue was another big attraction.

Over the years Haaland has regularly been pictured in City shirts — and a beanie hat during a trip to Wembley with them in 2014.

What a signing Erling Haaland is

Micah Richards

A City statement read: “City can confirm we have reached an agreement in principle with Borussia Dortmund for the transfer of Erling Haaland on July 1.

“The transfer remains subject to the club finalising terms with the player.”

Pundit and former City defender Micah Richards was delighted with the signing.

Él dijo: “What a player. What a signing Erling Haaland es.

“What a statement to the rest of the teams around. It is the perfect fit.

“I don’t think, apart from Harry Kane ahora mismo, there is a better fit. Now they have got a Plan B.”

Dortmund signed 20-year-old Germany forward Karim Adeyemi from Austrian champs Salzburg just hours after announcing Haaland’s departure.