Erling Haaland won’t sign for Manchester United because of Roy Keane’s BRUTAL tackle on his dad 21 years ago, claims former Red Devils midfielder Paul Ince, as the Borussia Dortmund hotshot attracts interest from Man City, Barcelona and Real Madrid
- Roy Keane caused Alf-Inge Haaland a serious injury after fouling him in 2001
- He later admitted to deliberately looking to injure his opponent in that match
- Haaland’s son, Erling, is now linked with some of the biggest clubs in Europe
- Paul Ince thinks Manchester United will miss out on him due to Keane’s actions
Paul Ince thinks his former teammate Roy Keane may have scuppered Manchester United’s chances of signing Borussia Dortmund forward Erling Haaland this summer.
Back in 2001, Keane inflicted a serious knee injury on Haaland’s father, Alf-Inge, during a Manchester derby, and was shown a red card for his actions.
The Irishman would later admit that he committed the foul deliberately as he looked to gain revenge on his opponent, who had shown little sympathy to Keane when he had gone down with his own cruciate ligament injury four years earlier.
Roy Keane deliberately injured Alf-Inge Haaland in a Manchester derby back in 2001
He showed no remorse for his actions afterwards as his opponent received treatment
Haaland hadn’t shown too much sympathy to Keane when he suffered a cruciate ligament injury at Elland Road in 1997
Despite being over two decades ago, Ince believes Keane’s challenge lives long in the memory, and will prevent United from enticing Haaland to Old Trafford.
‘United need a new striker. Haaland is a tricky one because of the situation with his dad and Keane at Old Trafford,’ Ince said, as quoted by Sport Bible.
‘I can’t see him going to Old Trafford just based on that, and if there’s no Champions League, he definitely won’t.’
Ince’s latter point is a notable one as United are far from guaranteed a top-four finish this season.
Paul Ince thinks Keane’s challenge could cost Man United the chance to sign Erling Haaland
Paul Ince believes Keane’s tackle on Haaland Snr will prevent Man United signing Erling
However, even if they do get into Europe’s elite club competition, their hopes of landing Haaland could be slim.
The 21-year-old is one of the most sought-after players in world football, having netted 80 goals in just 79 matches for Dortmund since arriving at the club in January 2020.
Manchester City, Real Madrid and Barcelona are all believed to be keen on signing the Norway international.
A potential bidding war could break out for the striker, but it seems that United may struggle to be a part of it, if Ince’s prediction proves correct.
