Reports: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer still hopeful Manchester United will sign Erling Haaland

Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is still hoping to secure the signature of Erling Haaland, according to reports. The Norwegian wants the Red Devils to sign both his countryman as well as long-term target Jadon Sancho soon, even though he has missed out on getting either of them in the past 10 months.

Manchester United’s pursuit of the Englishman was the talk of the transfer window, but the club failed to reach an agreement with Dortmund for the player after tracking him all summer. That was the second time that the Red Devils had to bow to the Bundesliga side in the past year after already losing Haaland to them.

Solskjaer wants Manchester United to target Haaland in 2022

Manchester United failed to sign Haaland in January of this year

According to ESPN, none of the players signed by Manchester United were first choices for Solskjaer. The Norwegian has maintained restraint in public, preferring to be diplomatic in his statements, but it is believed that he is frustrated at missing out on his primary targets. And one of the players Solskjaer is gutted to not have brought to Old Trafford is his countryman Haaland.

Solskjær is frustrated at the missed opportunity to sign Erling Braut Håland and Jadon Sancho over the past 12 months. Solskjær believes Håland would have made financial and sporting sense despite having a release clause #mulive [@ESPNFC]

— utdreport (@utdreport) October 9, 2020

Manchester United were believed to be in pole position to sign the Norwegian striker in December last year. Solskjaer even met Haaland personally in the same month and was convinced that he had managed to get his man. A deal with FC Salzburg was also thought to be close to completion and everything was going according to plans.

However, a move never materialized because Manchester United were reluctant to agree to exorbitant agent fees, while Ed Woodward was also skeptical about including a release clause in the player’s contract.

Solskjaer met Haaland 🇳🇴 last December and believed he had struck an agreement with the then-FC Salzburg striker over a January move to United, only for Woodward to pull the plug on a €20m deal because of agent fees and Haaland's agents wanting a release clause.[ESPN] #MUFC pic.twitter.com/gumzxyX51v

— RouteOneFootball (@Route1futbol) October 9, 2020

In short, Manchester United withdrew from the table and Dortmund grabbed the opportunity with both hands. The Bundesliga side paid €20m for the player and even inserted a €75m release clause which gets activated in 2022.

And the rest, as they say, is history. The Norwegian broke into the scene in Germany with a hat-trick on his debut and has scored an astonishing 22 goals in 23 games so far for Dortmund.

Solskjaer, though, remains hopeful for a reunion with the player he coached at Molde and also believes that Haaland, along with his current teammate Sancho, is ideal for Manchester United’s long-term goals. But given the club’s failure to secure his first-choice targets, questions do remain whether the Norwegian will manage to be at the helm at Manchester United by the time Haaland is available in 2022.