Erling broke Ole’s dream of signing him in one game

MANCHESTER UNITED’S dream of signing Erling Haaland was dead in the water on July 1, 2018.

That was the day Haaland went goal-crazy at Brann Bergen – with a top United scout watching.

Haaland, then aged 17, was attracting attention and catapulted himself on to the wanted list of every top club with an astonishing performance for Molde.

The teenager scored a hat-trick in just 11 minutes and made it four with a penalty six minutes later, leaving clubs beating a path to Haaland’s door.

United had known plenty about

Haaland through

Ole Gunnar

Solskjaer, who was manager at

Molde during the teenager’s emergence.

But they were slow to force through a deal before controversial agent Mino Raiola – Paul Pogba’s representative – came on the scene and directed Haaland to Red Bull

Salzburg in January last year.

According to Erling Moe – No.2 under Solskjaer and now Molde’s boss – Haaland almost fluffed his lines against Brann.

Moe (above) admits the youngster was misfiring just hours before his four-goal blitz guaranteed him stardom. Moe said: “The day before we played Brann, we had a session and Erling was missing the goal every time.

“He really struggled and was angry with himself for missing so many chances. The next day, with all those scouts watching, he looked like a million dollars.

“The Brann players didn’t know what hit them – and I think they are still seasick to this day!”

Molde officials are still surprised Haaland isn’t a United player – with former team-mates always believing he had stardust in his boots.

Midfielder Fredrik Ausnes, a big pal of Haaland, said: “When he first arrived at Molde, I thought he was nothing special really.

“He was big for his age and I could see there was some potential there, but I couldn’t see he would be a Dortmund player so quickly.

“But he developed very quickly. He’s really hungry for success and professional off the field and so mentally strong.

“After the game has finished, he forgets it and prepares for the next one.”

And Molde midfielder Eirik Hestad said: “He spreads good vibes when you are around him, but, when you make him angry, he gets really angry – as you can see on the pitch as well.

“The biggest difference with Haaland is that, compared with massive names such as Kylian Mbappe and Neymar, his best attribute is that he wants to help the team.

“And he really wants to help it so much more than other players who now have that superstar status in football.”