Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s disappointment was evident as he reflected on Manchester United’s poor decision to overlook the opportunity to sign a young Erling Haaland. The club’s choice to ignore Solskjaer’s suggestion to acquire the rising star for just £4 million appears increasingly unwise, particularly after Ruben Amorim resorted to using midfielder Kobbie Mainoo as an improvised striker during the home defeat to Crystal Palace on Sunday. Mainoo was played in a false nine role, while the underperforming forwards Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee remained on the sidelines. At the same time, United had been looking into possible deals during the January transfer window for Chelsea’s Christopher Nkunku and Bayern Munich’s Mathys Tel. Despite this, Nkunku stayed with Chelsea, while Tel ultimately chose to join Tottenham, after initially rejecting a transfer to the north London club. United is currently experiencing a tough phase characterized by both poor quality and a loss of confidence among their forwards. However, the situation might have been different had they followed Solskjaer’s recommendations while he was at Molde, the Norwegian club he led from 2015 to 2018 before coming back to Old Trafford to take over from Jose Mourinho. During his time there, he had a young Haaland in his squad, who is now 24 and already garnering attention as a remarkable young striker. During a 2023 event in Manchester, Solskjaer reflected on how he had informed Manchester United about Haaland when he was with Molde. The image shows Ole Gunnar Solskjaer alongside Erling Haaland during their time at Molde (Image: PA). According to The Athletic, Solskjaer mentioned: “I reached out to United since we had this skilled forward who they should have signed.” Sadly, they chose not to pay attention. “I requested four million.” However, they did not sign him. Four million!
