Manchester United made big mistake not signing Erling Haaland, admits Lee Sharpe

Manchester United made big mistake not signing Erling Haaland, admits Lee Sharpe

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Former Manchester United star Lee Sharpe has revealed that the club made a massive mistake in not signing Erling Haaland when they had the chance. The Red Devils were heavily linked with a move for the former RB Salzburg striker but no move materialized and Haaland joined Borussia Dortmund.

The teenager had an instant impact at his new side scoring five goals in his opening two games including a hattrick on his debut for Dortmund. That has taken Haaland’s tally up to 33 goals in 24 appearances including eight goals in six Champions League games and 16 goals in 14 league appearances for Salzburg. It saw the 19-year-old become Europe’s hottest prospect with Dortmund eventually snatching up the Norwegian.

That is despite reports indicating that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer flew down to Austria to convince the teenager to sign for the Red Devils. No move ever materialized and with Marcus Rashford now out injured, it has caused a few problems for Manchester United. However, Sharpe went on to admit that he was very shocked that the 19-year-old rejected the move to Old Trafford and that the club never tried harder given their issues up front.

He also added that he’s been a little surprised with the Red Devils’ lack of transfer business despite their move for Bruno Fernandes and believes that his former side needs atleast two or three more players to become better either this window or next summer.

"I’m surprised United have not been more active in this transfer window. They definitely need two or three new players in the summer. Solskjaer is short upfront, he needs one or two new strikers. The big one for me was Haaland,” Sharpe told Talksport.

"He could have come to United, and when you think that he’s Norwegian and you’ve got a Norwegian manager who is a legend of Norway, and if you’re not going to come and play for one of the biggest clubs in the world and for one of the biggest legends of your country, because you’re picking Dortmund instead… I think there’s something a little bit wrong in that one,” he added.

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