Everton chiefs at the time were not convinced that Haaland would continue to flourish when other players caught up with him physically.

The giant striker flourished at Salzburg and made a huge impact for the Austrian club domestically and in the Champions League before joining Borussia Dortmund in December 2019.

King, who is outstandingly well connected in Scandinavian football and knows the Haaland family very well, suggested that Man United only have themselves to blame for missing out on the superstar.

“I said to Haaland’s dad that I’d love him to go over to Everton so we could have a look at him, and sure enough we managed to work it,” King told the Inside Track.

“He came over for three or four days and did okay, but the general opinion was that because of his size, would he be as effective?

“But Man United should have definitely signed Haaland.

“I know the chief Scandavavian scout at United and he worked really hard to get him over there.

“There was a mix-up at the end of the season and a lot of people were on holiday at United.

“They were told that they had to ring Molde at a certain time in the morning.

“The guy who was handling Haaland’s deal from Molde to Salzburg was Jim Solbakken and he has good connections with Man United.

“He said that if the call is not in by 10 o’clock, then Haaland will go to Salzburg.

“The people at United who made the call made it an hour late. They should have rung at nine but they rang at 10, which is 11 in Norway.

“That caused the deal not to go through!”

Since United missed the chance to secure his services, Haaland has scored 186 goals and provided 44 assists across 191 appearances for Salzburg, Dortmund and rivals Man City.