“They Didn’t Sign Him”- Manchester United’s Transfer Blunder Saw $218 Million Striker Slip Away to Join Eternal Rivals

Transfer windows in soccer marks the importance for the clubs to strengthen their squads. However, clubs do make mistakes in transfer decisions. On certain occasions, those mistakes turn out to be blunders. And that’s what happened with Premier League giants Manchester United. 

The blunder still haunts United as they are still in search of a striker amid the goalscoring woes. And to make things worse, the striker joined their city rivals and has already broken the Premier League goal record in his first season. 

Manchester United missed out on signing star player

Haaland played under Ole Gunner Solskjaer at Norweigan soccer club Molde FK. Solskjaer, a former United striker and manager, was impressed with Haaland’s talent. He felt Haaland would fit in at United, who was searching for an able striker since Robin Van Persie and Wayne Rooney left. 

The former United manager revealed, “I called United about six months before I took over and told them that I’d got this striker that we had, but they didn’t listen. I asked for £4million for Haaland but they didn’t sign him.” Solskjaer became manager of United in 2018, firstly on an interim basis and then permanently. 

United had a chance to sign Haaland for a paltry sum of around $4 million. The striker would have solved all the goalscoring problems of United. Haaland has been recently named the most valuable soccer player by CIES, with a market value of $218 million. Moreover, five years later, Manchester City signed the striker for over $50 million. 

The Norweigan has repaid the faith of the Cityzens. In his first season itself, the former Borussia Dortmund forward is smashing goalscoring records. City is in contention for the treble, thanks to his red-hot form in front of the goal. One transfer decision can make or break the fate of the club. Manchester United is a great example of the same, as their search for the striker goes on.

United is still looking for a solution for the goalscoring problems

The last United striker that stamped his authority in the league was Robin van Persie. Since he left, United has tried and tested many strikers but didn’t succeed. They signed the likes of Romelu Lukaku, Radamel Falcao, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Edison Cavani, and Cristiano Ronaldo. Most of them turned out to be short-term solutions. 

READ MORE: Cristiano Ronaldo’s Iconic 31 Goals EPL Season Sidelined As Erling Haaland on Track To Become “Best Striker Ever”

This season Marcus Rashford gave hope after the World Cup. He was in sensational goalscoring form until the latest injury crept in. The club is still in search of replacements for the likes of van Persie and Rooney. Only time will tell whether United succeeds in their efforts or not. They would hope to not repeat the same mistake as with Erling Haaland.

WATCH THIS STORY: Ten Times Cristiano Ronaldo Four Goals in a Game

Let us know your thoughts on the blunders made by your favorite soccer clubs in the transfer windows.