Leeds United fans are certainly familiar with Erling Braut Haaland.
Leeds United have been able to bring through a number of homegrown players over the years, with Leeds as a city proving to be a hotbed of talent.
Jonny Howson and Kalvin Phillips are two of the more recent examples, whilst David Batty and Alan Smith were homegrown favourites in the past.
However, some Leeds-born players have slipped through the club’s grasp, and striker Erling Braut Haaland is ertainly a leading example of that.
The son of former Leeds midfielder Alf Inge Haaland, Erling had been making waves in Norway with Molde but has maintained that he’s a Leeds United fan.
That resulted in Whites supporters bombarding him with messages earlier this year, urging him to make the move to Elland Road, but he’s joined Red Bull Salzburg instead.
He’s already enjoying a red-hot start to the season. With Salzburg, Haaland has racked up 11 goals and three assists in just seven games, with Austrian defences seemingly just unable to contain the giant centre forward.
That has resulted in a first senior Norway cap at the age of just 19, and he made his debut as a starter in the 2-0 win over Malta on Thursday night.
Haaland is showing that he has the ability to be a success outside of Norway, and if he continues this kind of goalscoring form, he will earn a big move away from Salzburg.
Leeds may well be hoping that they’re in the Premier League and can afford to sign him, as Haaland himself told Aftenposten in 2017 that he wants to win the Premier League title with Leeds – and even if he doesn’t arrive, fans will at least be proud of the Leeds-born hitman for his successes.
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