29 October 2023 , 13:00
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Few near-miss transfers will hurt those associated with Manchester United quite like Erling Haaland.
The Red Devils even got a tip-off from a club legend about him before the majority of the footballing world knew just how good he was and they still didn't get the deal done. Before taking the reins at Old Trafford himself, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was manager of Norwegian side Molde, who boasted a young Haaland within their ranks.
Keen to do his former side a favour, Solskjaer recommended Haaland to United, clearly well aware that the young striker was destined for greatness. He then tried to bring the Norway international to Manchester himself during his spell as manager but failed and opted to sign two veteran strikers instead.
At just 23 years of age, Haaland is closing in on 250 career goals - a hefty amount of which have come for United's local rivals Manchester City. As Solskjaer explains, things could have been so very different.
"I got in contact with United because we had this talented striker who they should have had," he said. "But they didn't listen, unfortunately." Solskjaer's initial recommendation came in 2018.
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Two years later, United did try and sign Haaland, but refused to agree to putting a release clause in his contract and as a result, he ended up at Borussia Dortmund for a bargain fee of £17million. Realising they needed attacking additions, United did make signings. Two in fact.
Both of whom are now in the twilight of their respective careers while Haaland breaks Premier League records. The first was Odion Ighalo, a boyhood United fan who certainly knew what it meant to represent the Red Devils, but ultimately failed to ever make the grade.
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Solskjaer recommended Haaland to Man United while at Molde (PA)Signed on loan in January of 2020, United fans reassured themselves with the fact that Ighalo already had Premier League experience with Watford and knew where the goal was. By the time the Red Devils had agreed to sign him, Ighalo had spent three seasons in the Chinese Super League.
Five goals in 23 appearances would suggest Ighalo was not the answer for United. Nowadays, he can be found in the Saudi Pro League where he finds it far easier to get himself on the scoresheet. He spent two seasons at Al-Hilal but has since joined Al-Wahda and bagged five goals in nine games.
10 months after signing Ighalo on loan, United brought Edinson Cavani to the club on a permanent basis for free. While this transfer was undeniably more exciting given his European pedigree following successful spells at Palermo, Napoli and Paris Saint-Germain, it was still another striker arriving at the end of his career rather than the start.
Cavani's United return of 19 goals in 59 games is by no means poor, but considering 16 of those came in the first campaign, the Uruguay international's decline was steep. After two seasons, he upped sticks to Valencia but soon moved back to South America to ply his trade for Boca Juniors and will turn 37 before the season is done.
In stark contrast, Haaland is just shy of 14 years Cavani's junior and as he gears up for his third Manchester derby, the City superstar has the same amount of goals across all competitions on his own as United do as a collective in the league.
You can't win every transfer battle, but losing one that was gifted to you as a form of headstart must be particularly frustrating.