Erling Braut Haland’s Father Opens Up About His Son Signing For Manchester United

Erling Braut Haland's father has put his bad blood aside with Manchester United and admitted that he would be happy if the Red Devils signed his son.

The 19-year-old Norwegian starlet scored a first-half hat-trick on his Champions League debut on Tuesday in Red Bull Salzburg's 6-2 thumping of Genk.

Haland has been linked with a stunning move to United and he also shares history with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who managed the player during his time at Norwegian side Molde.

The Salzburg striker's father, Alf-Inge Haland, played for United's rivals Leeds and Manchester City and was on the receiving end of Roy Keane's horror challenge back in 2001.

But Alf-Inge put aside any bad blood and said it "would be nice" to see his son at Old Trafford.

"It is important to distinguish between being a supporter and a job," he told Norwegian channel TV2.

"So I have a very relaxed relationship with that. It's a little different when it's serious.

"Yes, I think most players dream of being in the Premier League at one time or another.

"It's the league that gets the most attention around and it has very good quality teams.

"There is no doubt the Premier League is attractive to him."

Alf-Inge played for Leeds in 1997 and started his heated rivalry with Keane when he accused the United legend of faking an injury to avoid punishment for his initial challenge.

The Irishman, 48, picked up an injury to his anterior cruciate ligament and was sidelined for almost a year.

And the two would meet again in 2001 when Alf-Inge, who was now at City, suffered a shocking challenge on his right knee and ex-United captain Keane was sent off.

United boss Solskjaer praised Alf-Inge's son for his Champions League heroics and admitted that he was happy to see how far he had developed.

Solskjaer said ahead of United's Europa League clash with Astana: "It was nice watching the game last night.

"But my focus obviously is on the game tomorrow.

"It's great watching him and I think everyone in Norway is excited by his development."

Should United make a move for Haland?

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Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Football News, Red Bull Salzburg, Football, Manchester United, red devils, Premier League, Old Trafford

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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