Manchester City receive bold Erling Haaland loan bid for World Cup break
Man City receive bold Erling Haaland loan bid for World Cup break originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Manchester City superstar striker Erling Haaland is one of the best players who won’t be at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
With Norway not among the 32-team field in the Qatar-hosted tournament, Haaland isn’t scheduled to play in another competitive match until Dec. 22.
So, since the 22-year-old’s schedule is wide open for the next month-plus, one English club in the Greater Manchester area is making a bold request for his services.
Ashton United, who play in the seventh-tier Northern Premier League, have submitted a 28-day loan bid for Haaland.
Unlike the Premier League, the Northern Premier League isn’t going on break during the World Cup and its transfer window is still open.
“Ashton United can confirm that the club has submitted a 28-day loan approach for Manchester City striker Erling Haaland,” the club said in a statement Monday. With the current Premier League champions not in action until late December due to the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the Robins have reached out to our neighbors at the Etihad in order to keep Haaland’s match fitness with him not being involved in Qatar.
“The club are yet to receive any response from Manchester City.”
Shoot your shot, right?
News of the bid made such waves that it apparently crashed Ashton United’s website.
Ashton United manager Michael Clegg provided a rather hilarious justification for the bid.
“It just makes sense,” Clegg said in the release. “City aren’t playing, and we want to help by keeping Erling fit, it makes more sense than him playing golf for six weeks. We think he will be a great fit for us, and would slot in with our squad dynamic really well.”
Yes, one of the world’s best goal-scorers would certainly slot nicely into a squad that currently sits mid-table in the Northern Premier League. After transferring from the Bundesliga’s Borussia Dortmund in the summer, Haaland has dominated from the jump in the Premier League.
Haaland is on pace to break the Premier League’s single-season record for goals in a season. He’s up to 18 goals through 13 league appearances, putting him 16 goals away from Andy Cole and Alan Shearer’s all-time record of 34 with 24 matches remaining. He’s also found the back of the net five times in four UEFA Champions League games.
How big of a boost could Haaland provide Ashton United? Well, considering he has just five fewer league goals than the entire Ashton United team, Clegg would expect at least 12 goals per game from the striker.
“We’re in the hunt for a striker so we thought why not?” Clegg added in an interview on BBC Radio. “It’s been hard for any of the teams in our league to get any momentum so I’m sure slotting the big man in would only help us climb the table. I’m sure he’d hit the ground running and I’d be hoping for a minimum of six goals a half from him.”
Props to Clegg and Co. for not leaving any stone unturned, but it’s probably safe to say they won’t have their loan bid accepted by the two-time defending Premier League champions.
Although, it would be fun to see just how many goals Haaland could rack up for the Robins.
