Celtic reportedly sent scouts to watch Molde on Wednesday.
According to Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten, Celtic had scouts in attendance as Molde travelled to Glenavon in a Europa League qualifying tie on Wednesday – and surprisingly lost.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side were expected to leave Northern Ireland with a positive result, but after Elrik Hestad had given the visitors the lead, Rhys Marshall and Joshua Daniels scored to give Glenavon a famous 2-1 win.
The second leg is still to come, but Molde didn’t impress on Wednesday night, and that may have come as a surprise to a number of scouts who travelled to watch the game.
Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten report that 15 clubs sent scouts to the game, with Celtic one of them, though it isn’t exactly clear who the Bhoys were looking at.
Molde do have a host of players with potential, but the standout name is 17-year-old striker Erling Haaland, the son of former Manchester City and Leeds United midfielder Alf-Inge Haaland.
The 6ft 3in striker was born in Leeds but has racked up caps and goals for Norway at youth level, whilst he already has 12 goals in 35 first-team games for Molde, including four goals in a 4-0 win over Brann last month.
The Manchester Evening News recently reported that Manchester United are keeping close tabs on Haaland, but Celtic will surely have been monitoring the wonderkid to weigh up their own move.
Whilst Haaland would be one for the future at United, Celtic could offer him a pathway to first-team football, just as they have with Haaland’s compatriot Kristoffer Ajer since his move from IK Start.
Celtic may not be able to compete with huge clubs like United financially, but they can give Haaland first-team football at a young age – and they are right to at least watch him, if indeed they were, ahead of a potential audacious move this summer.
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