Just before the year’s turn, the Erling Haaland to Man United rumours began to pick up pace. In the end, though, the mega-talented striker would choose Borussia Dortmund.
Given Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s working relationship with Haaland, it was always a bitter pill to swallow for the 20-time Premier League champions.
I guess if that deal had happened we wouldn’t have Bruno Fernandes in the squad at the moment, though you cannot deny Haaland’s immense talent.
In eighteen games for Dortmund, Haaland has struck sixteen times, proving his worth from the get-go despite only being a teenager.
Obviously, the praise has been rightly heading his way since, with none other than Paul Scholes the latest to have his say. According to the Reds legend, United should have paid whatever it took to sign the mega-talented 19-year-old in January – before adding that ‘he looks the real deal’.
‘Yes. Do you know what, when all the talk was about, I hadn’t seen a lot of him.‘ Scholes responded on Radio 5 Live, transcribed via The Metro, when asked if United should have pushed harder to sign the striker.
‘But then once the German football came back and I watched him properly, I thought: “Why did Manchester United not just pay whatever anybody wanted for him?”
‘He looks that good, he’s still young, and he’s an out-and-out goalscorer. He’s quick as well, he’s got real pace. ‘He’s a big lad, he’s a presence, and he scores goals – and that’s priceless.’
‘Looking back – and do you know what, he still might be available, who knows, in time – but United are going to have to pay big, big money for him. But so what? He looks the real deal.’
Hindsight is a wonderful thing, eh? Though Haaland’s goal-scoring prowess at RB Salzburg simply couldn’t be ignored. It’s not like you can say it was due to quality of opposition, either, as he was banging in the goals in the Champions League!
For what it’s worth, I think United did push hard for Halaand, it’s just that he had his heart set on Dortmund which is fair enough. Unfortunately, it looks like young talent choosing to head to Germany is now becoming a theme, with United-linked Jude Bellingham seemingly set to follow suit…
As Scholesy says, all hope is not lost for United. Haaland is 19 and no doubt he’s got a few big career-moves left in him yet, just look at Jadon Sancho who already wants a change of scenery from the Signal Iduna Park.
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