Manchester United could have sorted their attack out for years to come, had they acted faster in the transfer market
Manchester United agonisingly missed out on signing Erling Haaland by an hour in 2018, after they failed to contact Norwegian side Molde in time to complete the deal.
On August 18, 2018, Red Bull Salzburg announced that Haaland would be joining the club on January 1, 2019. Despite interest from around Europe, the Austrian champions secured his signature – but things could have turned out very differently had Manchester United acted faster.
Former Everton scout Bryan King explains how Manchester United were working extremely hard to sign Haaland during that period, with the club’s relationship with Molde – then managed by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer – making a potential deal more likely.
A huge transfer gaffe ensued, however, with the summer break seeing Manchester United officials lose track of time and phone Molde an hour late, which ultimately handed Haaland over to Red Bull Salzburg in the process.
“I told Haaland’s dad that I’d love him to go over to Everton so we could have a look at him, and sure enough we managed to work it,” King said on The Inside Track podcast. “He came over for three or four days and did OK, but the general opinion was that because of his size, would he be as effective?
“But Manchester United should have definitely signed Haaland. I know the chief Scandinavian scout at United and he worked really hard to get him over there. There was a mix-up at the end of the season and a lot of people were on holiday at United. They were told that they had to ring Molde at a certain time in the morning.
“The guy who handled Haaland’s deal from Molde to Red Bull Salzburg was Jim Solbakken and he has good connections with Manchester United. He said that if the call is not made by 10 o’clock, then Haaland will go to Salzburg.
“The people at United who made the call made it an hour late. They should have rang at nine but they rang at 10, which is 11 in Norway. That caused the deal not to go through!”
Of course, Haaland has since gone onto become a world beater for Borussia Dortmund and now Manchester City, leaving Manchester United to rue what might have been.
The Norwegian struck 29 goals in just 27 games for Red Bull Salzburg, highlighting his talent and what could have been for Manchester United. Oh, and he only costs less than £7m, too.