Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has said Erling Haaland could have signed for Manchester United for less than £20million had the club listened to his advice.
The former United manager handed a 16-year-old Haaland his professional debut while in charge of Norwegian club Molde in 2017.
The Manchester City star scored 20 goals in 50 appearances in all competitions in two seasons under Solskjaer, who informed United of Haaland’s precocious talent in the summer of 2018.
But speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet, the Norwegian revealed United decided to pass on the chance to sign his compatriot.
‘I had him [Erling Haaland] in Molde, for two seasons,’ he said.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (middle) managed Erling Haaland (second left) for two seasons at Molde
Solskjaer twice told Manchester United to sign Haaland, but his advice was dismissed
‘The summer before I got here [joined Manchester United], I rang the club and said ‘You’ve got to sign this boy – he’ll be top class’.
‘That was June/July 2018, and they said no – they had enough reports on players.’
Solskjaer left Molde in December 2018 to become United’s caretaker manager after Jose Mourinho’s sacking and Haaland followed him out of the door a month later, moving to RB Salzburg for £7m.
Aware of Haaland’s potential, Solskjaer again pleaded with United to sign Haaland, whose contract with the Austrian club included a £17m release clause.
‘We [Molde] had sold Haaland to RB Salzburg. I tell the club [United] straight away to buy him while he has a release clause,’ he said.
‘We knew that then, and no one else would’ve paid the money – €20m (£17m), it would’ve been a bargain.
‘Even though with his links with Alfie [Haaland], and Manchester City and Leeds.’
The advice again went unheeded, with United feeling they had enough attacking options on their books.
Solksjaer also urged United to sign Haaland after he replaced Mourinho at Old Trafford
The Norwegian left Molde for RB Salzburg in January of 2019 for just £7m
He then moved to Borussia Dortmund a year later following a stunning season in Austria
Mourinho had signed Alexis Sanchez from Arsenal in January 2018 and spent £75m on bringing Romelu Lukaku to Old Trafford from Everton six months earlier.
By the time Solskjaer replaced the Portuguese, both were still at the club along…