Premier League transfer news with Erling Haaland’s Man City future and centre-backs to watch in 2026

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Welcome back to Talking Transfers! TBR Football’s weekly column brings you the latest Premier League transfer news and updates from our chief correspondent, Graeme Bailey.

This week, we’ll dive into Erling Haaland’s contract clauses, a little on Premier League-based sporting directors and the centre-backs you’ll need to keep a close eye on in the upcoming windows.

Real Madrid and Barcelona both believe there are clauses in Erling Haaland’s new contract, signed last season, that could allow him to leave in the future.

Erling Haaland’s future as Madrid and Barcelona lurk

City sources originally said that with the new nine-year deal running to 2034, his previous clauses had been removed. But sources close to the deal – and at Barca and Real – think there are still some clauses in there. And let’s not forget every major deal Haaland has signed has had clauses.

So, let’s see how this plays out. But when we’re talking about clauses, we’re not expecting Haaland to leave in the next 18 months.

Barcelona have accepted that he’s likely to be at City beyond 2026. He is still their long-term dream target, but right now, he’s fully focused on the season.

Haaland’s been brilliant for City so far – 13 goals in 10 games. He’s almost at 150 goals for the club and hasn’t even played 160 games yet. He also has his first major international championships coming with Norway next summer.

So, for now, nothing’s imminent, but in 18 months’ time, it could become a real talking point. Haaland is always going to be a fascinating figure in both the Premier League and European football.

And yes, my sources confirm there are clauses in his contract that could play a part in his future down the line.

Are Saudi clubs looking at Premier League sporting directors?

Moving on to Al-Hilal in the Super League – they’ve been linked with a lot of English-based sporting directors recently. Paul Mitchell from Newcastle, Paul Winstanley from Chelsea, even Richard Hughes from Liverpool.

But we can confirm there’s nothing there. Hughes is staying put at Liverpool – they’re very happy with what he’s done since joining from Bournemouth in 2024.

Interestingly whilst we are talking Bournemouth, there is Tiago Pinto. I can confirm the Bournemouth sporting director is also on Al-Hilal’s radar. He’s earned a lot of respect across Europe for what he’s done at Vitality Stadium since arriving from Roma.

Last season, he brought in Dean Huijsen and then sold him to Real Madrid. He’s getting a lot of acclaim for that move, and it’s not just the Saudis looking at him – big European clubs are noticing too.

Which centre-backs will shape transfer stories in 2026?

Now, let’s talk central defenders. Those likely to dominate transfer talk heading in 2026 are the big three potential Bosman free transfers in the shape of Marc Guehi, Ibrahima Konate, and Dayot Upamecano.

But there are others we need to look at including Edmond Tapsoba – who was so close to joining Tottenham Hotspur when they were chasing him and Micky van de Ven, but they opted for the Dutchman.

Keep an eye on Tapsoba – he’s having a very good season again with Bayer Leverkusen. Last summer, they lost Jonathan Tah, so they weren’t going to let him go too but he is one to watch in the New Year.

The Premier League is a likely destination, and we’ll have updates soon on which clubs are focusing on him.

Then there’s Sporting duo Ousmane Diomande and Goncalo Inacio. These two are supremely talented central defenders.

The top six in England have all made inquiries about them. Diomande was even looked at by Crystal Palace last summer, but with an €80 million release clause, that wasn’t happening.

I’m told Sporting are in advanced talks with both Diomande and Inacio to sign new contracts, and they’re confident it will happen. Both are names to watch heading into 2026 – they’re definitely stars of the future.