'We've got Erling Haaland!' - Everton had Man City striker 'in the building' for cut-price £2m transfer fee - but sensational deal fell apart

Lennon claims Haaland visited the club's Finch Farm training ground as a youngster and was introduced as a player who could be signed by the club for '£2 million-£3m'. The former Toffees winger says ex-owner Farhad Moshiriu, who this week completed his sale of the club to the Friedkin Group, decided not to sign off on the deal - only to watch Haaland take world football by storm for Molde, RB Salzburg, Borussia Dortmund and now Manchester City.

Lennon was discussing the reign of Moshiri as Everton owner when he revealed the eye-catching news that Haaland could have become an Everton player. Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, he said: "I remember Erling Haaland walking into the building with the physio, Steve Walsh, who introduced him to me and said, 'Look, Aaron, we've got Haaland. You know his dad, Alfie? The Leeds boy. Hopefully we're going to have him here'. I hadn't heard much of him, I think he was 15 or 16 years old and I never saw him again. I think they could have had him for £2m-£3m and Moshiri didn't sign off on that. Could you imagine? Erling Haaland would have signed for Everton."

Moshiri became Everton's majority shareholder in 2016, overseeing a relatively unhappy period in the club's history. The Toffees have finished in the bottom six in each of their last three Premier League campaigns and fans were increasingly vocal about wanting the British-Iranian to sell his stake in the club, which he eventually did this week. Signing a young Haaland could have spectacularly changed the club's fortunes, however. The Norwegian has since developed into arguably the world's greatest goalscorer, breaking the record for the most goals in a single Premier League season in his first campaign with Manchester City and winning the Golden Boot again in 2023-24.

Haaland has certainly made Everton pay for not making their move while they could. The striker has featured three times against the Toffees since signing for City and scored on each occasion, including a match-winning brace when the sides last played each other at the Etihad Stadium in February. They will next do battle at the Etihad on Boxing Day.