Pranav Nair
Manchester United News: The role John Murtough played in failed Erling Haaland transfer deal
According to news outlet Football Insider, John Murtough is the man responsible for Manchester United failing to get the Erling Haaland transfer deal done.
The incident occurred in 2018 when Haaland was not yet a familiar name for football fans across the globe. An upcoming youngster, he could have joined United for a mere £3million. (h/t The Express)
The landscape has changed since and the 20-year-old is now one of the best young players in world football. This has also seen his value skyrocket to around £100million. (h/t The Express)
United were closing in on Haaland while he was still at Molde in the summer of 2018. However, confusion over different time zones ended our pursuit.
Old Trafford chiefs arranged a 9 am call with the player’s agent, Jim Solbakken, to finalise the deal. But Molde believed the call would be at 9 am their time and not British Summer Time, which was an hour later. (h/t The Mirror)
By the time United called, Molde had agreed on a deal to sell Haaland to RB Salzburg. The man responsible for the goof-up was none other than our new Football Director John Murtough.
The report cites a source involved in the negotiations who name-called Murtough as the person supposed to make the call to Solbakken. He is now set to head United’s new recruitment process after being appointed in his elevated new role last week.
He will work alongside Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and new technical director Darren Fletcher in bringing players to Old Trafford. Hopefully, he is done with the bloopers reel involving negotiations.
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The news that Murtough’s oversight cost us Haaland is sobering. While it is easy to doubt the credentials of a man who managed to mess up what could have been the deal of the century, we also hope it has made him wary and more attentive to details.
The jury is out ahead of what could be a defining summer window for the Red Devils.
