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Cherubini: Juventus regret not signing Erling Braut Haaland in 2018

By James Cormack

Dortmund's Norwegian forward Erling Braut Haaland celebrates scoring the 3-2 goal during the German first division Bundesliga football match between Borussia Dortmund and TSG 1899 Hoffenheim in Dortmund, western Germany, on August 27, 2021. - DFL REGULATIONS PROHIBIT ANY USE OF PHOTOGRAPHS AS IMAGE SEQUENCES AND/OR QUASI-VIDEO (Photo by Ina Fassbender / AFP) / DFL REGULATIONS PROHIBIT ANY USE OF PHOTOGRAPHS AS IMAGE SEQUENCES AND/OR QUASI-VIDEO (Photo by INA FASSBENDER/AFP via Getty Images)
Dortmund's Norwegian forward Erling Braut Haaland celebrates scoring the 3-2 goal during the German first division Bundesliga football match between Borussia Dortmund and TSG 1899 Hoffenheim in Dortmund, western Germany, on August 27, 2021. - DFL REGULATIONS PROHIBIT ANY USE OF PHOTOGRAPHS AS IMAGE SEQUENCES AND/OR QUASI-VIDEO (Photo by Ina Fassbender / AFP) / DFL REGULATIONS PROHIBIT ANY USE OF PHOTOGRAPHS AS IMAGE SEQUENCES AND/OR QUASI-VIDEO (Photo by INA FASSBENDER/AFP via Getty Images) /
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Federico Cherubini has spoken of the club’s regret at not signing the phenomenon Erling Braut Haaland back in 2018 when he was at Molde.

Haaland would eventually make his first major European move to Red Bull Salzburg, where his prestige grew exponentially following a fearsome run of form in the Champions League. The teenager scored eight times in six games in Europe’s premier club competition during the 2019/20 season before making the switch to Borussia Dortmund in January 2020.

From there, his inevitable rise to superstardom has been swift and Haaland is now regarded alongside Kylian Mbappe as the two leading talents in a dystopian Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo-less football world. The Norwegian demon has scored 63 times in 64 games for Dortmund, and there’s no sign of him letting up anytime soon.

The dude’s a freak.

Oh, but how it could’ve been all so different had Juventus made a more lucrative offer for the demonic forward back when Haaland was just 17 and humbly plying his trade in the Norwegian top tier for Molde.

Juventus come close to signing Haaland

Haaland tore up the Champions League with RB Salzburg. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)
Haaland tore up the Champions League with RB Salzburg. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images) /

Fabrizio Romano (via Skrill) revealed that after scouting the teenage forward, Juventus invited Erling and his family to the Allianz Stadium to watch the Derby d’Italia against Inter Milan in December 2017.

The club were said to be confident over signing the Norwegian, but when they attempted to sign Haaland from Molde the following summer, the player declined. The ambitious Haaland had his eyes on RB Salzburg where he’d earn a starting berth in the senior team right away. He simply wasn’t interested in a move to Turin where he’d likely spend plenty of time in the Under-23’s and out on loan.

Juventus’ regret

Asked whether there was any regret at the missed opportunity to sign the generational forward at such a primitive stage of his career, Juventus sporting director Cherubini said: “We do, it would be stupid to say something different.

“However, things must be put into context. Young players can be scared about going out on loan, we were at the beginning of our U23 project and perhaps the perspective we offered him wasn’t too exciting.

“Maybe the idea of ​​going out on loan wasn’t ideal for a player like him. Maybe today, things would be different,” he added, speaking to Tuttosport (via Football Italia).

No Donnarumma regret

Juventus could’ve signed Italy’s number one on a free in the summer, but didn’t make a move. (Photo by Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images)
Juventus could’ve signed Italy’s number one on a free in the summer, but didn’t make a move. (Photo by Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images) /

Juventus were linked with a move for free agent Gianluigi Donnarumma in the summer but failed to pursue a move for the Azzurri hero as the young goalkeeper wound up at Paris Saint-Germain.

Asked why the club wasn’t more aggressive in their approach for the former AC Milan shot-stopper, Cherubini replied: “Because Juventus have a reliable goalkeeper with a long contract [Wojciech Szczesny].

“We believe in him and we think he is the ideal solution. For the policy we have, it would make no sense to do what PSG are doing. It wouldn’t be good to have two important goalkeepers in the same team.”

Donnarumma is currently serving as Keylor Navas’ back-up in Paris and while the Costa Rican is one of the most underrated goalkeepers in Europe, there’s no doubting that the towering Italian is PSG’s keeper of the future. In Turin, Juventus currently have Mattia Perin backing up the struggling Szczesny.

Despite Cherubini’s claims, there will surely be plenty of regrets further down the line in Juventus HQ when Donnarumma inevitably blossoms into the continent’s finest gloveman.

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