Roy Keane speaks out in Sky Sports special as Leeds United named
Roy Keane and Ian Wright reacted as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer insisted he could have signed Erling Haaland at Manchester United despite his links to Manchester City and Leeds United.
The former Manchester United manager revealed that he could have signed Haaland for £17.1million when he was still playing for Molde in Norway.
The Man City striker was born in Leeds and has previously confessed to following the club as a supporter when he was younger, but Solskjaer insisted that would not have got in the way.
Speaking on the Stick To Football podcast [6 March], Solskjaer revealed: “He had a release clause and we knew, and no one else then would have paid that money.
“Twenty million Euros. It would have been a bargain, and maybe at that time, even though with his links with Alfie [Haaland], City and Leeds…”
Wright looked stunned as he tried not to laugh at the situation, with Keane asking him: “What are you looking at me for?”
Could Leeds United have signed Erling Haaland?
It was shared by former Everton coach Duncan Ferguson back in 2022 that Leeds could have picked up Haaland for just £2million after the striker went on trial with the Goodison Park club when he was just 15 and likely would have had trials at Elland Road too.
Given both his and his dad’s affiliation to the club, it is unclear whether that support would have come into it should Man United have made their interest in signing the giant striker more firm than just speculative interest under Solskjaer.
Club allegiances haven’t stopped players from moving in the past, so there is no reason to suggest they would have done so here, and the former United boss must list this as one of the biggest regrets of his managerial career.
With the struggles Leeds have faced in recent years, with Patrick Bamford up front for the majority of that time, it is difficult to imagine how different the Norwegian’s career would be if he arrived at Elland Road as a 15-year-old.
In other Leeds United news, an image has emerged of what Archie Gray did after the Stoke win.
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