GOAL - James Westwood

Erling Haaland is "easier" for Real Madrid to sign than Kylian Mbappe, according to Sergio Ramos, who has picked out the Borussia Dortmund star as the ideal summer target for the Blancos.

Haaland and Mbappe have both been heavily linked with moves to Santiago Bernabeu in recent months, with Zinedine Zidane reportedly eager to bring in a long-term successor for Karim Benzema, who turned 33 in December.

Ramos is a keen admirer of the prolific duo, and would love to see Madrid secure their respective signatures, but feels Haaland is a more realistic option amid the financial uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Blancos captain said during an interview on Ibai Llanos' Twitch channel: "Haaland or Mbappe if I were a coach? I would like to have both of them, but a coach does not sign.

"Perhaps, due to the circumstances and the current situation, today I think it would be a little easier to sign Haaland.

"Mbappe is talked about as the Cristiano [Ronaldo] and [Lionel] Messi replacement, and the circumstances are more complicated.

"It would never be bad to reinforce Madrid with a 9 like Haaland, who has something that we do not have: speed, hunger, height ... Mbappé has it too, of course, but it would be much easier today to come to terms with Haaland."

Haaland completed a €20 million (£17m/$24m) switch to Dortmund from Red Bull Salzburg in January 2020, with reports that a release clause of €75m (£64m/$90m) was included in the final agreement.

That clause is not said to come into effect until 2022, but it has been suggested that BVB may be willing to listen to offers in excess of €80m (£69m/$96m) for the frontman when the market reopens later this year.

Mbappe, meanwhile, is currently worth a substantially larger amount, having made his €180m (£154m/$216m) transfer to PSG in 2018.

The World Cup winner's value has only increased since then, and PSG are currently in the process of trying to tie him down to a bumper new contract extension.

Haaland has spearheaded Dortmund's latest pursuit of trophies on domestic and European fronts in impressive fashion, scoring 31 goals in 29 appearances - including two in a Champions League round of clash with Sevilla on Tuesday.

Mbappe is also leading his club's charge for major silverware, with the Frenchman currently boasting 26 goals to his name through 33 outings across all competitions.