Former chief scout at Molde, John Vik, has recalled the moment he saw Erling Haaland during training and realised the potential he had and has suggested that top Premier League clubs missed out on the striker.
Haaland was at Molde between 2017 and 2019 before he eventually left for Austrian side RB Salzburg, but at that time, Vik has admitted he and then-Molde boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer tried to alert Manchester United to his potential.
He told The Athletic: ‘I remember one day when I was watching Erling train. He had been with us seven or eight months, he was training really hard and he had become part of the squad.
‘I walked down to see Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who was Molde’s manager, and I said, “You have to call Manchester United, mate – this is unreal what we are looking at.”
Erling Haaland (left) played under ex-Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (right)
‘Me and Ole understood that this kid was so good we were not going to be able to keep him. Ole agreed with absolutely everything. “I will put a phone call in”, he said, “they need to hear about this kid”.
‘We had friends at United. I used to work closely with United, in the early 2000s, and most of the guys I knew had gone. But Ole was Ole. “For God’s sake”, I said, “call Nicky Butt (then United’s head of academy), or call somebody, because this kid is (great)”.
‘This was even before Erling had really started to play for Molde properly. Ole put the phone call in. So the name was put in. Then, how or whether United followed it up, I don’t know.’
United did not follow through a complete a transfer to sign Haaland, as he went to Salzburg and then Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund where he proved he could make the step up, and now he is starring in the Premier League with United’s local rivalsManchester City following a summer switch worth £51million.
John Vik says Haaland (pictured) was scouted by Liverpool and Arsenal when he was at Molde
Vik brought Haaland to Molde and believed he would move on to bigger and better things in his career, but he had to tell scouts from Premier League sides including Liverpool and Arsenal not to judge him as a target man due to his height.
He said: ‘I think they (the English scouts) looked at him as a target man because he was so big.
‘I kept telling them, “He’s not a target man – if you’re going to judge him that way, you’re going to be disappointed”. I remember one occasion when the team were out in Spain.
‘I was with some of my colleagues from Premier League clubs and I remember saying, “I have to repeat myself, guys, don’t judge him as a target man, you have to look beyond that. He runs in between, he chases space, he’s fantastic in the box, he’s that kind of player”.
Haaland did leave Molde but instead of moving to England he joined Austrian side RB Salzburg
‘I was thinking to myself, “Am I the guy who is getting it wrong? Am I seeing this the wrong way?”. But there has always been this perception with some English clubs that a striker needs to look a certain way, and that a centre-half needs to look a certain way, and you need a certain frame for a certain role.
‘When they were seeing a big striker like Erling, they were seeing a target man and I think they forgot to look at what else he could do.
“Liverpool could have got him. Arsenal could have got him. 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.
Liverpool were one of the clubs to have scouted Haaland but judged him as a target man
‘I didn’t like him with his back towards the goal and, at the time, he couldn’t really head the ball. I liked it when he turned round, when he chased into pockets, when he ran between the lines, his movement in the box. He didn’t want to hold the ball up, he just wanted to turn and go.
‘There will be a lot of clubs kicking themselves because we can all see now what he is good at.’
While those clubs may regret their decisions made over Haaland, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola will be glad they held back their interest as he has already proved capable of performing in England’s top flight.
Haaland has started his City career in brilliant fashion, scoring 12 goals in seven games in all competitions.
Haaland has started his Manchester City career well as he has been prolific in front of goal
