Erling Haaland’s dad suggests Man Utd board failed to support Solksjaer over transfer
Erling Haaland’s father has hinted the striker did not join Manchester United because there was not enough interest from people at the club beyond Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
The Norwegian starlet joined Borussia Dortmund from Red Bull Salzburg in the January transfer window following an extraordinary first half of the season in Austria.
How has Haaland started at Dortmund? Five things to know…
- In the first half of the campaign, Haaland scored 28 goals in 22 appearances for Red Bull Salzburg.
- His eight strikes in six Champions League group games attracted global attention, including from Dortmund.
- Since joining the Germans he has found the net 12 more times, reaching the 40-goal mark before European football was suspended.
- That included a hat-trick from the bench on his Bundesliga debut against Augsburg.
- After three league games he had scored seven goals, and he added another Champions League brace against PSG in the Round of 16.
Haaland’s incredible form in front of goal led to inevitable interest from a number of clubs in January, with reports strongly linking him with a move to Manchester United.
But the 19-year-old ultimately signed for Dortmund, for whom he has scored 12 goals in 11 appearances across all competitions so far – taking his overall tally for the season up to 40.
Being Haaland’s countryman, Solskjaer’s presence at United was tipped to tempt Haaland to make the move to Old Trafford.
And while it seems Solskjaer was indeed keen to bring the teen sensation to the Premier League, Alf-Inge Haaland has seemed to suggest in an interview with TV2 that his son was not wanted by everybody at United.
“You never know how it would go in other clubs. It may well have been good, too, if we had chosen a different route. We’ll never get an answer to that. But we are very happy with the clubs he has been in,” said Haaland Sr.
“You have to go to a club where the whole club wants you, not just the coach. I think that’s the most important thing, in addition to how the club has been over the last five or ten years and what direction they’ve taken.
“Because it’s dangerous to just sign for a coach, because he can suddenly be sacked.”
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Haaland Jr. was born in Leeds close to Elland Road, where his father played for Leeds United between 1997-2000. He also played for Manchester City during his playing career.
Alf-Inge previously revealed his son is a fan of Leeds, Manchester City and Nottingham Forest.
