Why Man United SHOULDN'T Sign Erling Braut Haaland In The Summer

Why Man United SHOULDN’T Sign Erling Braut Haaland In The Summer

4
Why Man United SHOULDN'T Sign Erling Braut Haaland In The Summer

Man United have been linked with many names since the arrival of Ralf Rangnick to the club with names like Timo Werner and Christopher Nkunku being mentioned.

However, one name that has grabbed everyone’s attention is that of Erling Braut Haaland’s.

Ralf Rangnick was the one who prized Haaland away from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Molde when he was sporting director at Red Bull Salzburg so the connections between the two are already set in stone.

There is no doubting the sheer quality that Erling Haaland possesses and his goal scoring ability at the tender age of 21 is something almost unseen in many years.

He will undoubtedly win many Balon D’Ors for years and years to come and cement himself as a leading goal scorer in world football.

Just to back up these claims with numbers, Haaland scored 41 goals in as many games last season for Dortmund and this season alone has already scored 19 in 16 despite an injury keeping him out of action for a few months.

The moment Haaland showed he's about more than 'just' scoring goals - Planet Football

This season’s numbers also come without his main assister Jadon Sancho who of course has transfered to Man United.

His 6ft 3″ height matched with his expert positioning and acute striking ability makes him one of the most sort after players in world football and there is still so much time to develop his game further.

So why with all this being said should Man United avoid signing the prolific goal scorer that is Erling Haaland?

The main reason is Mason Greenwood.

Premier League: 5 young players to watch in 2021-2022 season

Man United have always prouded themselves on creating new stars from their academy or finding less established players around the world and turning them into world beaters.

United currently have an elite goal scoring machine in Mason Greenwood.

Mason Greenwood screamer gets Manchester United ahead of Leicester City | NBC Sports

Now, when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer gave Mason Greenwood his first team debut in the Champions League, the 20-year-old was primed as a striker but since then Mason has been moved out to the right.

The signing of Edinson Cavani was necessary at the time and he was only scheduled to be at United for a season.

The plan was to have Cavani and Greenwood as the two options up front while Mason continued to develop his game.

Then the 2021 summer transfer window happened and it was a big one in the development of Mason Greenwood.

Man United finally completed the signing of Jadon Sancho with the young Englishman targetted for the right wing.

With the deal confirmed, Mason Greenwood would be allowed to return to his natural position as Man United’s number 9 all until a certain Portuguese international came home.

Look, no one is going to criticise Ronaldo coming home but his transfer does hinder the development of our young talent.

The 20-year-old is now second choice right winger and third choice striker which means he is out of the team’s first team picture.

Now, Edinson Cavani is likely on his way out and Ronaldo will also be departing within the next 2 years by that Mason Greenwood would have matured and developed his game further.

If the club opted to sign the talent of Haaland then Mason would be pushed back in the pecking order again when his ability commands a starting place.

There are two main arguments at this point with the first being squad depth.

We have learnt over the past few years and especially with Covid-19 that a squad is cruical if you want to win the Premier League and the striking position is as cruical as any for having two to three capable players to fill in when necessary.

However, both Mason Greenwood and Erling Haaland have too much talent to be swapping in and out for each other.

If you look at the other teams in the league and even around the world, you won’t find a team with two strikers with the quality of Greenwood and Haaland.

Chelsea have a world class striker in Romelu Lukaku and a inconsistent Timo Werner, Liverpool have a good all rounder in Roberto Firmino and a dynamic Diogo Jota and Man City don’t even have a number 9.

Werner starts alongside Lukaku for first time as De Bruyne and Foden make City XI

Bayern come closest with Thomas Muller and Robert Lewandowski but the former is declining and doesn’t currently reach the levels of a Haaland or Greenwood.

The second argument is the two up front system.

Most managers in the world don’t tend to use the two up front formation and while Mason Greenwood would suit a striking partner, Haaland is the sort of player that thrives on his own in the forward line.

Finding a good enough manager to play with a front two and get it to be a working formula is a difficult task and while we are seeing Rangnick utilise a 4-2-2-2, the two in question would struggles to work in tandem I believe.

The Austrian international will come with a heft price tag which would take funds away from a much more needed position like central midfielder or a number 6.

Erling Haaland would also come with a few further concerns.

His lack of Premier League experience could cause an issue especially with the dubbed “Bundesliga Tax” that has impacted the likes of Timo Werner and Kai Havertz.

The second slight concern is Mino Raiola.

Of course, Mino is the agent of the young goal machine and the Dutch-Italian has had a storied history with Man United with Paul Pogba being a notable example.

If Mason Greenwood played for another club then I would 100% back any move for Haaland but I feel like the heavy transfer fee would be a waste when we have a player like Mason who could easily rival or top Erling’s ability within a few seasons.

4

Comment (1)

  • mark harris Reply

    i agree manchester united should be going back to the old sysytem of bringing the youth through its not about always buying

    21/12/2021 at 23:25

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *