Newcastle United could have signed Manchester City's new marquee signing Erling Haaland for £7million before he really hit the big time.
The Magpies even sent scouts to run the rule over the Norway superstar back in 2018 during his days with Molde with Newcastle represented in the main stand for a 2-1 defeat against Glenavon in the Europa League qualifiers on July 18. Whether the £7million asking price from Molde proved too much for Mike Ashley's United may now never be answered, but certainly Newcastle were invited to something of an auction for his services.
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A little context may also be applied too as Haaland signed for Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg a month later for a fee of £7.2million and it was actually Leeds United - the club of his father Alfie - that are also believed to have been close on the deal. RB Salzburg had certainly done the groundwork on the exciting young Scandanavian though.
But if anything, the deal exposes some of the frustrations for the life of Toon scouts during the previous era. Finding a talent was one thing but £7million in those days would have been scrutinised for a first-team player let alone an unproven kid!
After just one year at Red Bull though it was clear the Bundesliga had a star on their hands with 17 goals in 16 games resulting in Borussia Dortmund coughing up €20million for Haaland. And since 2020 he really hasn't looked back with 85 goals in 88 games for Dortmund in all competitions.
Even at £51million Haaland's move to Man City looks like it could be a bargain buy if the 21-year-old can continue his development. Haaland's success story is certainly food for thought for United chiefs and situations like this could be cited in any potential scouting revamp when Dan Ashworth eventually gets started.
Another lesson that can be learned from the Haaland deal this week is Dortmund's work behind the scenes to ensure a replacement was signed on the same day the Norway ace left the club. In Karim Adeyemi the German side have a striker ready to go to work next season after again joining from Salzburg for a fee of €30million.
Striking up relationships with clubs around Europe will be high on Ashworth's agenda when he starts work as technical director.
