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Man Utd: What could tempt Haaland to Old Trafford?
Up until March, Chelsea faced the prospect of having to fight Manchester United for the signing of Erling Haaland. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side made the signing of the Norway international a priority but, since then, have had a changed of heart. And that, certainly, bodes well for Thomas Tuchel’s side when it comes to acquiring the 21-year-old this summer.
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Manchester United have long admired Haaland.
They came close to signing the striker back in the January transfer window of 2020, submitting a bid to Red Bull Salzburg.
Solskjaer, along with Ed Woodward, flew out to Austria to meet with the player and his camp. There, they felt they had an agreement.
Except, then, everything changed.
United suddenly lost out, pulling out of a deal due to concerns over the money involved. Borussia Dortmund then capitalised, successfully bringing the hitman to Germany instead.
Manchester United and Chelsea are admirers of Erling Haaland (Image: GETTY)
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And, up until March, they were planning on going after Haaland with everything they had - determined to win the race for one of the most talented players of his generation.
At the time, the Red Devils feared Edinson Cavani would leave.
The Uruguay international had struggled to adjust to life in the Premier League and, consequently, was eyeing a return to South America with Boca Juniors.
Cavani was also unhappy at a charge from the FA for using racist language in an Instagram post, believing he’d been treated unfairly with the comments aimed at a friend.
But then came an injury to Anthony Martial. And everything changed.
Cavani ended last season in sublime form and, in May, announced he’d be staying at United for another year having bene persuaded to stay put.
And that saw the club’s priority change, with Solskjaer deciding to press the pause button on Haaland and pursue Jadon Sancho again instead.
This time, United have managed to sign Sancho - having previously failed in 2017, 2019 and 2020.
And Chelsea are now the team pressing hardest to sign Haaland, with Tuchel and Roman Abramovich both sold on his potential signing.
The Blues have already jettisoned Olivier Giroud, offloading the France international to Serie A giants AC Milan.
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