Among the many changes Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has made at Manchester United, a return to focusing on youth is the biggest.
The United boss wants the club to get back to their roots and focus on young talent and demonstrated it with his transfer business this summer.
If United are to do that they’ll need their scouting network picking up on talent across Europe and that means focusing on the small leagues as well as the big one.
The Austrian Bundesliga, for example, may not be the most glamorous of division but like every league, there’s plenty of talent if you look close enough. One of the shining stars is Erling Braut Håland.
The 19-year-old joined from Molde FK last January and has already registered seven goals and three assists in his first five league games, as well as three goals in the ÖFB-Cup.
He appears to have caught the eye of United, with Salzburger Nachrichten reporting United, Arsenal and AC Milan will all have scouts watching this weekend’s clash with WSG Tirol.
There’s no mention of who they’re there to watch, but the newspaper hints heavily that Håland and teammate Hee-chan Hwang will likely be the focus of their attention.
And it certainly makes sense for Håland to be on United’s radar. He gave the young striker his debut at Molde when he was 16-years-old, and the striker went on to score 20 goals in 50 games under him.
That’s a strong connection, to say the least, and would more than explain why Solskjaer and United, with their new remit on signing youth, are keeping an eye on him.
