The most intriguing aspect of the battle for Erling Haaland this summer might not be which team signs him, but what the teams that don't get him do instead.
That's especially true in the Premier League, where Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea have all lined up their ducks to pursue the lethal Norwegian.
A goalscorer as regular as Haaland is at the tender age of 20 is worth his weight in gold and it will take plenty of that to secure him from Borussia Dortmund this summer.
It says everything about the impact Haaland has had in Westphalia that clubs are queuing up to sign him a year before a release clause of ?75 comes into effect. To sign him this summer will cost considerably more than that, although the pursuers might be helped if Dortmund fail to secure a return to the Champions League through the Bundesliga.
But a return of 49 goals in 49 games will tend to make clubs go weak at the knees, especially when they are scored with such confidence and assurance. Haaland looks a once-in-a-generation centre forward, which is why he will be all the rage this summer.
United and City both need a striker, probably more than Chelsea, but that's unlikely to stop Roman Abramovich throwing the rubles around to try and secure what would be the ultimate marquee signing.
Real Madrid are the unknown quantity in the Haaland saga, mostly due to the attraction of playing for them rather than their financial clout these days.
The sensible money - and there's not much of that at the Bernabeu - is on Haaland following in the footsteps of his dad and moving to the Premier League. But where will he end up?
Right now you would have to make City favourites. The announcement on Monday that Sergio Aguero will be leaving the Etihad at the end of the season hinted at a confidence that they will make a splash when it comes to signing a striker this summer. They will need one to replace Aguero.
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Haaland has obvious links with City through his father, Alf-Inge Haaland, but this is about more than familial ties. City are a team that create more chances than anyone else in Europe and under Pep Guardiola look well set to challenge domestically and in Europe. Finance won't be an issue, either.
United have a link of their own as well, in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Haaland's countryman and his former manager at Molde. But from a sporting perspective, City surely have the edge.
Both Manchester clubs have had their run-ins with Haaland's controversial agent, Mino Raiola, but feuds can easily be put aside by both parties. The clubs have a hole to fill in their squad and Raiola has a deal to do. Money makes the world go round.
In an interview with The Athletic this week, Raiola suggested he was too cautious in suggesting a move to Dortmund in January 2020, rather than going straight for a European superpower.
"With Haaland, everybody was wrong. He did things much quicker than everybody imagined. Haaland is in front of his own development," said Raiola.
"He is ahead of his own schedule. Maybe I was too careful when I said, 'Oh no, let's move to Dortmund instead of I-don't-know-where'.
"This boy - I'm 100 per cent convinced and everybody's convinced - can move to any club, wherever he wants, already on this level. And he could have done that last year. But maybe last year there were still teams (saying), 'Oh, he was in Red Bull, can he do it in another club?'. He is quicker than his own prediction. So yeah, Haaland is the talk of the town."
Perhaps when United reflect on Haaland it might be that the January 2020 window represented their best chance of landing the striker, rather than the summer of 2021.
Solskjaer met his countryman ahead of that transfer window and United were keen to sign him from RB Salzburg, with Haaland available for what now looks like a steal at ?20million.
But United didn't like the demands being asked for as part of the negotiations, with the player's representatives, including Raiola, wanting a share from future sales, while they also rejected the idea of a buyout clause, which is in Haaland's Dortmund contract.
Morally that was probably the right call for United. Sources described the clause of profiting from future sales as 'bad for the industry' and there's an argument they would have lost control of Haaland's future had they succumbed to such demands. The idea of a buyout clause suited at a stepping stone club like Dortmund, rather than United.
But that was perhaps United's best chance of landing the player. Bookmakers consider them as fourth favourites to sign the striker this summer and it would be a surprise if Haaland was paraded at Old Trafford holding up a United shirt before the start of next season.