Leeds United were reportedly dwarfed out of Erling Braut Haaland’s ‘perfect’ Salzburg transfer

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A report in the Daily Mail has highlighted why Leeds United missed out in a move for Erling Braut Haaland back in 2018. 

The Norwegian striker has been one of the biggest stars in European football this season because of his impressive goalscoring record with Red Bull Salzburg. That led to a £17 million move to Borussia Dortmund in January and Haaland has scored 40 goals in 33 games this season. 

But before all of his success this season, Haaland had previously made his name under the guidance of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Molde. 

Haaland’s form with the Norwegian side saw plenty of clubs around Europe linked with his signature, including Leeds. 

Haaland was born in the West Yorkshire city, whilst his father Alf-Inge was playing at Elland Road. The teenager had previously spoken of his love for Leeds and plenty of fans at Elland Road were clamouring for their club to make a move for the player. 

According to the Daily Mail, they did. Leeds tried to sign Haaland but the Austrian side ‘dwarfed’ their offer and the Norwegian ended up in Austria. 

Interestingly, Haaland spoke about the move this week, telling FourFourTwo that the Salzburg switch was ‘perfect’ for his development. 

“It was a perfect move. In the first half of the year I trained a lot and didn’t play much, but then the summer arrived and I just didn’t look back. There was a new manager who helped me a lot: Jesse Marsch was fantastic to me.” 

Leeds United, meanwhile, moved on, knowing they had at least tried to sign one of Europe’s most wanted young players. 

Looking back now, it is undoubtedly a huge disappointment that Leeds did not manage to secure the Norwegian wonderkid. 

But for the player’s sake, it appears to have been the right decision for his career.