Liverpool or Arsenal could have got him: Scout reveals how Premier League clubs missed out on Erling Haaland
Erling Haaland has been brilliant for Man City since joining the club this summer.
Erling Haaland has been taring up the English Premier League ever since his joining Manchester City from German club Borrusia Dortmund this cummer. However, things could have been very different for the Norwegian striker as he was on the radar of several top Premier League clubs while he was still very young and playing for Molde FK in his country.
A prodigious talent, Haaland had showcased at a very young age that he had all the qualities to become a successful striker. He was doing well for Molde in Norway and was making a name for himself with his goal-scoring exploits when a few top Premier League clubs got a chance to watch him and sign him.
Former Molde scout Jhon Vik revealed top English clubs like Arsenal and Liverpool had seen Haaland play and were presented with an opportunity to get him. However, they ended up passing on the chance, much to the shock of Vik, who always believed Haaland was destined for the top.
Haaland left Molde to join RB Salzburg in 2019 where he further developed before joining Borussia Dortmund. He left Dortmund to join reigning Premier League champions Manchester City this season and has been brilliant for them right from the start.
"Liverpool could have got him. Arsenal could have got him," Vik, who discovered Haaland at Molde, told The Athletic.
"Everyone was there to watch him but these clubs were seeing a No.9 who was tall and broad and, ‘Oh, he’s going to be a target man’. I couldn’t for the life of me see why they had narrowed him down that way," he further added.
Vik believes the clubs who rejected him would now be 'kicking themselves' after watching Haaland develop into one of the best young strikers in the world at present. Haaland has been sensational over the last couple of years and has been shattering records with his goal-scoring exploits.
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He recently became the youngest and fastest to score 25 goals in the Champions League after scoring a brace for City in their game against Spanish club Sevilla. Haaland has reached 25 goals in the Champions League at the age of 22 and has also scored ten goals in just six Premier League games already this season.
A prolific goalscorer, Haaland will be looking to continue his red-hot form when Manchester City take on his former club Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League next.