“We did not push to sign Haaland because of Osimhen”- Napoli Sporting director

Erling Haaland is having the time of his life at Manchester City, but his career could have taken a different course

Napoli Sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli has revealed that they had the opportunity to sign Erling Haaland from RB Salzburg in 2020, but they opted for Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen instead.

Haaland broke into the limelight after he scored nine goals in a match against Honduras at the 2019 Under-20 World Cup.

The Norwegian then went on to make his name at Salzburg, netting 29 goals in 27 games. At the time, several top clubs wanted to land him.

Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, and Napoli were some of the top teams interested in his services.

However, Haaland opted for a move to Borussia Dortmund for about €20million.

Napoli Sporting director Giuntoli has revealed that things could have been slightly different for the Norwegian hitman.

He admits that the Partenopeans wanted to meet Salzburg’s €25million-valuation but they opted against it because they believed Osimhen was a better option at the time.

 

“The contract was done with Salzburg, paying the €25M release clause for Haaland but he preferred BVB and we were looking at him or Osimhen who we put on the same level,” Giuntoli told Corsport as per Italian Football TV.

 

Napoli signed Osimhen from Lille two years ago for a club-record €75million. The decision has since paid off, as despite struggling in his first season, the Super Eagles striker has become a talisman at the club.

Osimhen has scored 38 goals in 76 games for the Partenopeans, and he is on course to leading the team to a first title triumph in over 20 years.