A Barcelona scout watched Manchester United and Manchester City linked striker Erling Braut Haaland during the Under-20 World Cup earlier this year.

The 19-year-old striker has captured headlines this week when he scored a hat-trick in Red Bull Salzburg’s 6-2 win over Genk in the Champions League group stage.  

 



He joined the Austrian outfit in January this year from Molde and has already scored 17 goals in nine appearances for the club in all competitions this season.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, his former manager at Molde, is a fan of the young striker and Manchester United have been credited with an interest, while Manchester City have seen their name linked with Haaland.
 


But there are other big clubs monitoring the youngster’s development and, according to Spanish daily Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona have been watching him for several months.



A Barcelona scout watched the young Norwegian hitman fire nine goals past Honduras in the Under-20 World Cup in May.

The Catalan giants have continued to keep an eye on Haaland with a view to potentially making a move for him soon.
 

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However, Salzburg are not likely to be keen to lose Haaland, meaning Barcelona, Manchester City and Manchester United may need to offer a substantial fee for him.