Man Utd ‘to launch January transfer scrap for Erling Haaland’ with bidding to start at £60m

MANCHESTER UNITED will bid for Erling Haaland in January — with bidding expected to exceed £60million, according to reports.

The hotshot Red Bull Salzburg striker, 19, missed their 2-2 draw with St Polen on Saturday with a knee injury.

Erling Haaland has emerged as the hottest striker in EuropeCredit: Rex Features

United have been closely scouting Haaland and according to the Times, they are ready to pounce during the window at the start of 2020.

Haaland has scored 23 goals in all competitions this season, including seven in the Champions League group stages.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer — who coached the Norwegian at Molde — has had his scouts keep a keen eye on the son of former Manchester City, Nottingham Forest and Leeds midfielder Alf-Inge Haaland.

And the bidding is likely to start at at least the £60m mark, with some estimates claiming the price could be driven as high as £85m.

The deal could also be complicated by the fact that the player’s agent is Paul Pogba’s representative Mino Raiola, with Juventus and Bayern Munich also known to be interested.

Reports have also claimed United chief Ed Woodward might also loan Haaland back to Salzburg for the rest of the season.

Haaland Snr was infamously injured by Roy Keane during a Manchester derby in 2001, when the Irishman put in a horror tackle on his leg.

Given the improvements from Mason Greenwood and better consistency from Marcus Rashford, Solskjaer could be on the verge of transforming Manchester United’s attack.

After the departure of Romelu Lukaku for Inter Milan, the club have missed having an out-and-out No9.

Greenwood, 18, looks set to have a bright future in that role, but the addition of Haaland would add both youth and competition.

Solskjaer has taken a youthful team with him to Kazakhstan for their Europa League clash at Astana.

United will top Group L if they win and AZ Alkmaar fail to beat Partizan.

The club are set to set a world record for a shirt sponsorship agreement after SunSport exclusively revealed they are in negotiations with Chinese white goods company Haier.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk