As a fellow Norwegian and the manager who gave Erling Haaland his debut at Molde, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will always be tied to the Dortmund striker.
Solskjaer was asked about Haaland at his press conference this week, with the in-form forward in the news after his Champions League brace against Sevilla last week.
United missed out on Haaland in January 2020, and it’s a miss which should haunt the club.
There have been short-term solutions put in place, via Odion Ighalo and then Edinson Cavani, which may suggest United are leaving the door open for a future run at Haaland.
Solskjaer told his press conference: “I still keep in touch with Erling and it’s great to see him become the player he has become and I know he’ll work to keep improving all the time. Erling’s a Dortmund player, we wish him well there and let’s see what life will bring later on.”
Prolific striker
Haaland has scored 27 goals in 25 games for Dortmund this season, despite their poor league form.
Currently Dortmund sit six points behind the Champions League places in the Bundesliga, and this could force them into selling this summer, a year before his release clause comes into effect.
Obviously we have our doubts as to whether United can pull off such a coup. It would cost United a princely sum, upwards of £80 million – four times the figure Dortmund paid for him.
Financially as well as in sporting terms, missing out on him was a big missed opportunity.
Solskjaer’s comments don’t suggest there is anything immediate coming on United’s part… but if there was a bidding war this summer and other Premier League clubs were involved, United would surely get involved, at the manager’s behest.
The United boss did have an opportunity to also dismiss any suggestions of a move to Haaland. Instead he side-stepped the question, playing it coy. It seems clear he hasn’t given up on managing him again one day.
From an on-pitch perspective, it would not be good for United to have to play against Haaland. The prospect of him going to an already strong City side would be a nightmare. So going the ‘all in’ to sign him could be worthwhile.
Sir Alex Ferguson took this approach in 2012 when he signed Robin van Persie. The figures involved were less spectacular, but the principle was the same… sign a game-changing striker who can influence the title race.
The problem is this would not leave much, if any money, elsewhere. We put a tweet out asking if this would be a price worth paying, and there were a range of replies.
Some pointed out that absolutely, it would be a gamble worth taking. United would be the great entertainers, capable of outscoring anybody.
Others pointed to the fact United are already the Premier League’s top goalscorers, and that fixing the defence should be a bigger priority.
The chance to sign Haaland may only come along once though, and it might just be a risk worth taking.
Haaland is a complete striker and he is only 20. It’s scary how good he could become.
Imagine how many goals he could score with Bruno Fernandes behind him, and the number of assists United’s number 18 could end up with.
It would be a combination which would be among the best in Europe, and it’s no surprise Solskjaer continues to follow the situation.
Mino Raiola could be a problem, but Haaland is a special player. He might be worth all the extra aggravation the loud-mouthed agent would bring, and if he delivers titles to United as we suspect he would, then everybody will be happy.
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