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Football agent shares what happened when Erling Haaland visited Leeds United training before nearly signing
Football agent Hayden Evans has shared how Erling Haaland visited the Leeds United training ground back in the 2017/17 season.
As many Whites fans know, Borussia Dortmund striker Haaland, 21, was born in Leeds and is a supporter of the club.
He was linked with a move to Elland Road earlier in his career and Evans has told The Phil Hay Show just how close he came to joining the Yorkshire club after meeting then-manager Thomas Christiansen at Thorp Arch.
“They usually have the Leeds United shirt already made up with Haaland on the back and all the rest of it,” said Evans, as shown in a clip by Phil Hay. on Twitter.
“What was impressive about them at the time was he said, ‘look, let’s go to the training ground, that’s what the boy wants to see, Elland Road’s Elland Road, he loves it as a Leeds United fan but as a footballer, we want to talk football’.
“They were in the middle of a first-team session and Christiansen had stopped the session and came over to Erling and hugged him, talked about football and all the rest of it.
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“That went really well and Christiansen was impressive, frankly.”
Missed opportunity
What a shame that Leeds didn’t sign Haaland.
There’s an alternate reality somewhere out there where the Norway striker did sign for the Whites and they are now currently a Champions League club with one of the best players in the world in their squad.
Since his days at Molde, Haaland has gone from strength to strength.
Red Bull Salzburg beat Leeds to signing him in 2019 and he didn’t last there long, signing for Dortmund a year later.
Since making that move, the 21-year-old striker hasn’t looked back and he’s now one of the best goal-getters in world football.
Incredibly, Haaland has been with Dortmund for almost two years and still averages a goal each game for the Bundesliga club.
He’s netted 49 times in 49 Bundesliga appearances and in all competitions for Dortmund, he scored 70 goals in 69 outings.
Why oh why didn’t Leeds sign him when they had the chance?
In other Leeds United news, there’s been a major injury blow for Leeds ahead of their clash with Tottenham on Sunday.