Man United slammed for letting star ‘slip through the net’

Man United have been criticised for letting Erling Braut Haaland “slip through the net”.

Haaland was heavily linked with a move to Old Trafford before Borussia Dortmund for the striker swooped in January.

The awkward, clumsy force of nature swapped Salzburg for Germany at a relative bargain fee of £18m and has continued his fine goalscoring form since.

Haaland has 40 goals in 33 games across all competitions this season, and former Man United midfielder Paul Ince has described it as “disappointing that they couldn’t get him”.

“If they want to close the gap on Manchester City and Liverpool then they need a world class striker,” he told Goal.

“They had the chance with Haaland, the young kid who went to Dortmund, that was sad really. He is a very, very good young player who can improve and you can’t let people like that slip through the net.

“That was disappointing that they couldn’t get him. They have got to have someone in who gets 20-25 goals a season.

“There are players who Ole will still feel should not be there next year. There will be more players leaving and more coming in.

“I think you have to get the right balance. You can’t always go too young. You need a right balance of experience and youth and there is still a long way to go to match Manchester City and Liverpool.

“They are going in the right direction and the quicker they bring in those players then the quicker that is achieved.”