Manchester United rejected £4m Erling Haaland deal, Solskjaer claims

This summer Manchester United are in the market for a striker to take Erik Ten Hag’s side to the next level. Meanwhile, in the blue half of Manchester, Erling Haaland has already broken the Premier League goal-scoring record in his first season in the competition.

It could all have been so different.

Former Manchester United player and manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has revealed that the Old Trafford club had the chance to sign Haaland in 2018, but they turned it down. On Friday Solskjaer appeared at an event in Manchester entitled ‘An Evening with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’ to discuss his time at the club.

“I got in contact with United because we had this talented striker [at Molde] who they should have had,” the former United boss revealed.

“But they didn’t listen, unfortunately. Four million, I asked for. But they never signed him. Four million! Don’t ask [where he is now]. He’s too good.”

Last summer the Norwegian forward made the switch to Manchester City and he has scored 51 goals in his debut season in England. With up to seven games remaining, don’t rule out the possibility of him breaking the all-time record of 63 goals in a season.

Solskjaer highlights the importance of dressing room characters

In 1996 Solskjaer made the move from Molde, where Haaland spent two years as a young player, to Manchester United. Solskjaer joined a squad who had won three of the past four Premier League titles and would go on to win another six during Solskjaer’s time at the club.

At Friday’s event Solskjaer emphasised the importance of the characters in Sir Alex Ferguson’s great teams.

“The lads in that dressing room were absolutely fantastic,” Solskjaer said. “Keano was the leader, the one everyone looked up to. David May was the joker, the clown. Gary [Neville] is still the busiest and was the busiest back then as well. Nicky [Butt] and [Ryan] Giggsy were the entertainers.”

“It was just a fantastic dressing room. Winners, who hated losing. They had a few fights, like you should do, after bad games. You had to shake each other up,” he added.

That was a stark contrast to what Solskjaer found when he returned to the club as manager in 2018.

“If you do that to the boys now, they will get their dad, or their mum, or their agents… Not many of today’s lot would have survived in that dressing room.”

Manchester United are expected to return to the Champions League this season under new boss Erik Ten Hag, but have squandered a considerable lead in recent weeks. United have won just one of their last four Premier League games to give rivals Liverpool the chance to close the gap.