Former Roma defender Sebastiano Nela has made the startling revelation that the club’s previous sporting director Monchi turned down the opportunity to sign teenage sensation Erling Haaland.
Haaland, who joined Borussia Dortmund for €20m in January, has burst on to the world stage this season scoring 24 goals in 19 league games between Austria and Germany. The 19-year-old has also set pulses racing in the Champions League finding the target ten times in only seven matches.
According to statements caught on camera by A Bola, Nela confirmed that Haaland was offered to the Giallorossi for the modest sum of €4m in 2018, but Monchi decided that the deal wasn’t worthwhile.
Haaland went on to join Red Bull Salzburg and has become one of the top young prospects in the world as he continues to score almost at will.
It’s impossible to know if Haaland would have developed in the same way had he joined the capital club, but with the Giallorossi having failed to win a Serie A game since January it’s almost certain that Paulo Fonseca would like to have the striker at his disposal now.
