Italian agent Vincenzo Morabito served as an intermediary between Juventus and Molde while Erling Haaland played for the Norwegian club.
The striker has become one of the hottest properties in world football now, and Borussia Dortmund is enjoying his outstanding talents.
However, he could have been on the books of Juve if things had gone differently in 2017.
Morabito reveals in a recent interview on Tutto Sport that Juve first contacted Molde over the budding striker four years ago and both clubs even negotiated his transfer then.
“It all started on November 3, 2017,” says Morabito.
“In recent days, looking at my archive, I found the email of November 3, 2017 in which Cherubini, at the time the market man of the nursery, instructed me to mediate with Molde. He relied on me aware of my knowledge in Scandinavia and in particular of my privileged relationship with Jim Solbakken and with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, in 2017-18 coach of Haaland in Molde.
“Cherubini was very determined and convinced. The very young Haaland had been reported to Juventus by Dodo Spinosi, the son of Luciano, a former Juventus player and Eriksson’s deputy in the Lazio scudetto. Dodo Spinosi had an excellent relationship with a Norwegian agent very close to Erling’s father.
“Cherubini went to Norway several times. And Haaland and his father, in December 2017, were hosted in Turin for a few days to visit the Vinovo sports center and watch the Italian derby against Inter. The family and the boy were very impressed to the point that in a very short time the ok to try to enter into a negotiation with Molde.
“The Molde managers, even though Juventus at that moment were the only top club to have smelled Haaland’s talent, fired an incredible request for a 17-year-old: 10 million! However, seeing that Haaland liked the Juventus destination, they proved willing to evaluate a more articulated proposal. That is 2.5 million immediately, in any case a considerable figure for a young player who played in Norway, and 50 per cent on future resale.”
Juve FC Says
Juve has missed out on signing some impressive players in the past, but watching Haaland score goals with reckless abandon in Europe would really hurt.
This should also serve as a motivation for the Bianconeri and might be one reason they have been pursuing young talents recently.
The likes of Dejan Kulusevski and Kaio Jorge look like top talents of the future and the Bianconeri would hope they fulfil their potential.
Max Allegri isn’t the best coach for young players as the returning manager prefers to give chances to establish players who he is certain can deliver the performances he demands.
