Erling Haaland highlighting a missed Manchester United transfer trick insists former Reds striker

Dwight Yorke believes Manchester United should have stumped up the money to sign Erling Haaland during his time at Borussia Dortmund.

The Norwegian striker made an instant impact in English football after signing for Manchester City last season, winning the Premier League golden boot by a distance and scoring 52 goals in 53 games as United’s rivals won the treble. At the weekend, Haaland notched up his seventh hat-trick for City in his side’s 5-1 win over Fulham.

United boss Erik ten Hag made a new striker his top priority this summer, initially targeting Harry Kane before deciding against dealing with Spurs, and instead signing long-term prospect Rasmus Hojlund. However, Yorke believes United should have pulled out all the stops to sign Haaland two years ago, before City were able to agree a cut-price £51.2m deal.

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“You can't bet against Erling Haaland anymore, he'll always score,” Yorke told OlBG. “This is why I said Man United should have bought him for £150m back in 2021.

“Haaland is unique, he may miss a few but he'll score most of the opportunities he gets. Other sides of Haaland's game can be developed, and it will get better because he's only 23 years old. It's frightening that he scored 36 goals and Haaland still knows he can improve to an even higher level, defenders should be worried for years to come."

United paid a fee rising to £72m for Hojlund this summer, while Kane completed his move to Bayern Munich for £85m. The Reds are hopeful the Dane can lead the line for many years to come with the fee based on his future potential as much as the present.