Before Erling Haaland moved to RB Salzburg, Man United had a contract to sign him on a platter, a well-connected recruiting expert told Football Insider.

The longtime Scandinavian senior scout for Tottenham, Aston Villa, and Everton Bryan King disclosed on the most recent episode of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast that the Premier League’s biggest clubs had a complete contract in place for the Norwegian but had missed the deadline to contact his former team Molde by one hour.

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In addition, King disclosed that before Haaland’s transfer to Manchester United fell through, he set up two tryouts for him at Everton, where he was employed as a scout.

At the time, Everton executives weren’t sure Haaland would keep scoring even when other players physically caught up to him.

Before moving to Borussia Dortmund in December 2019, the enormous striker in Salzburg thrived and had a significant impact on the Austrian team both domestically and in the Champions League.

King, who has exceptional connections in Scandinavian football and is well acquainted with the Haaland family, proposed that Man United should take full responsibility for their failure to get the superstar.

“We were able to make it work when I told Haaland’s father that I would love for him to visit Everton so we could take a look at him,” King revealed to the Inside Track.

“He spent three or four days here and performed ok, but most people thought that his girth would limit his effectiveness.

However, Man United ought to have signed Haaland.

“I know United’s head Scandinavian scout, and he put a lot of effort into getting him over there.

“At the end of the season, there was a mix-up, and many people were vacationing at United.”

They were instructed to contact Molde via phone at a specific hour in the morning.

Jim Solbakken was in charge of arranging Haaland’s transfer from Molde to Salzburg, and he is well-connected to Manchester United.

He declared that Haaland would travel to Salzburg if the call was not received by ten o’clock.

“The call was placed by someone at United, and they were an hour late. Instead of ringing at nine as planned, they did so at ten, which is eleven in Norway.

“It was the reason the deal fell through!”

Haaland has made 191 appearances for Salzburg, Dortmund, and rivals Man City, totaling 186 goals and 44 assists since United lost out on signing him.