Ed Woodward pulled the plug on Manchester United's move for Erling Haaland despite Ole Gunnar Solskjær believing a deal was done.
United were one of many clubs courting the prolific striker after his extraordinary goalscoring record for Red Bull Salzburg.
Solskjaer had worked with his fellow Norwegian during their time together at Molde and according to ESPN, the two met in December - the United boss leaving with the feeling that an agreement to sign him for €20 million was near enough complete.
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As we know, however, that's not how things played out. United's much-maligned executive-vice-chairman refused to do the deal due to Mino Raiola's agent fees and the insistence of a release clause in Haaland's contract.
Borussia Dortmund would then snap up Haaland on a four-year deal at the end of December 2019 and agreed to the release clause being inserted - but ensuring it could only be activated in 2022.
At the Signal Iduna Park, Haaland has continued to blossom into one of the most exciting strikers in world football - scoring 21 goals in his first 23 appearances in all competitions for Dortmund.
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The failure to do a deal for Haaland, as well as cough up the £108 million asking price for his Dortmund teammate and top United target Jadon Sancho, has apparently left Solskjaer frustrated.
Despite doing business elsewhere and drafting in the likes of Edinson Cavani, Donny van de Beek and Alex Telles in the transfer window, it's said Solskjaer still sees the Dortmund duo as "perfect" fits at Old Trafford and remains interested.
The same report notes that United made a deadline day offer to Dortmund for left-back Nico Schulz whereby they would pay a €1 million fee and cover his salary.
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However, Dortmund turned down the proposal, which caused them "to question the credentials of United's recruitment and scouting team," according to ESPN's source.
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Football News, Football, Manchester United, Erling Haaland, Borussia Dortmund, Norway
