“That’s why he’s at Manchester City now and that’s why we have other players” – Hasan Salihamidzic reveals why Bayern's move for Erling Haaland failed to go through

Bayern Munich sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic has opened up on their missed opportunity to sign Erling Haaland before the forward moved to Manchester City.

Bayern Munich were amongst the clubs trying to sign a new forward in the recently concluded summer transfer window. The Bundesliga champions lost Robert Lewandowski to Barcelona and therefore needed an adequate replacement.

Bayern were interested in signing Erling Haaland. The Norwegian forward, however, moved to Manchester City in a deal reportedly worth around £85.5 million after add-ons and other agent fees.

Salihamidzic stated that Bayern Munich did try to sign Haaland from Borussia Dortmund in the summer. However, they quickly realized that the deal would never take place in the circumstances.

Hasan Salihamidzic was quoted as saying the following (via Sky Germany):

"We were in talks, but it became clear that things might not work out that way for both sides. That's why he's at Manchester City now and that's why we have other players."

Bayern Munich, however, did strengthen their attack ahead of the 2022-23 season. The Bavarian giants managed to sign Senegalese star Sadio Mane from Liverpool for a fee of around £35 million.

The attacker has already made a bright start to his life in Germany and has scored five goals from six appearances across all competitions.

If Bayern Munich had signed the Norwegian forward from Dortmund, it would have been the second time they signed a superstar forward from their direct rivals in recent history. It is worth mentioning that Lewandowski joined Bayern on a free transfer after his contract at Signal Iduna Park expired.

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Erling Haaland is already showing his worth at Manchester City

Erling Haaland has made an expectional start to his life in the Premier League with Manchester City. The Norwegian forward has already netted nine goals and provided an assist in six games for the Cityzens across all competitions.

The former Dortmund forward has scored two back-to-back hat-tricks in the Premier League. He scored his first hat-trick in a Manchester City shirt in a comeback 4-2 win against Crystal Palace.

Haaland then scored another hat-trick against Nottingham Forest. The hat-trick was completed in the first half itself.

It is worth mentioning that Pep Guardiola's side were also in dire need of a new forward this summer. They parted ways with Sergio Aguero at the end of the 2020-21 season and hadn't signed a replacement for the Argentine forward.

The Norwegian forward is still just 22 years old and could be City's starting striker for many more years to come.