Manchester United were keen on signing Erling Haaland before he moved to Borussia Dortmund from Red Bull Salzburg in the winter 2020 market.
The failure to sign the Norway international saw the Red Devils turn their attention to a few other strikers, and among them was Haaland’s compatriot, Joshua King, who was then at AFC Bournemouth.
A deal for the current Everton striker collapsed because Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side found the Cherries’ demands excessive and it forced them to settle for Odion Ighalo instead.
Ighalo moved to Old Trafford on a loan deal from Shanghai Shenhua and last June, his temporary stay with the Premier League side was further extended until the start of this year.
King first arrived in England when Manchester United signed him for their academy in 2008, but he failed to make his mark at the club.
The 29-year-old was given an opportunity to return to his former employer in January 2020 and a failure to re-sign for his old club left the player disappointed.
“Of course, it was frustrating. It is one of the biggest clubs in the world and it would have been fun to go back where it all started in England,” King told TV2.
“But that’s life as a football player. You are under contract and you cannot choose to go whenever you want, you have to be bought out. It did not happen. I’m not so bitter now, but when it happened, I was quite disappointed that it did not go through.”
