'I tried to get Alexander Sorloth to join Aston Villa after sitting with his father'

Aston Villa could have signed Alexander Sorloth when he first broke through in senior football.

That is according to former senior Villa scout, Bryan King, speaking exclusively to Football Insider.

The 30-year-old could be on the move this summer, with Atletico Madrid reportedly willing to part ways with him for around £25million.

Sorloth scored 20 goals across all competitions in the 2025-26 season and featured for much of Norway's run to the World Cup quarter-final.

Villa are unlikely to sign a new striker unless Ollie Watkins leaves, which has emerged as a possibility.

Turkish side Fenerbahce are reportedly pushing to sign the 30-year-old, who will return from the World Cup after England were knocked out by Argentina on Wednesday.

Bryan King shares Alexander Sorloth story

Bizarrely, Sorloth largely featured on the wing for Norway during their World Cup run.

The presence of Erling Haaland rules out any option of starting through the middle, but the sight of a 6ft5in striker attempting to dribble past a full-back can be jarring.

The 30-year-old certainly has technical ability, however, and his 44 goals in 107 games for Atleti prove that.

"I tried to get Sorloth to Villa when he used to play in these youth tournaments, the European youth tournaments, and I went to see Villa play Rosenborg and I sat with Sorloth's dad, Goran [Sorloth]," King told Football Insider.

"I said to him: 'Would you be in agreement to let the boy come to Aston Villa for a week? And he was, but it never happened.

"Aston Villa just didn't, I presume, fancy him because he was a bit of a plodder in those days, but again, he was a big lad. You know, I said to Goran at the time: 'He is your son, isn't he?'

"He's not very big, Goran, he's very stocky, you know, strong, stocky player."

Sorloth's World Cup nightmare

Despite a generally positive tournament, Sorloth's World Cup was defined by just a few seconds of play.

With Norway 1-0 up over England, the striker found himself in a two-versus-one situation, with Haaland to his left.

Instead of attempting to find the deadly striker, Sorloth went alone and had his shot blocked, with England later going on to win in extra time.

"I take a touch and look up, and then I see that Stones is blocking that pass. So I take another touch, but it's a poor one. I wait for him to make a move instead of forcing him to commit," he explained.

"The only thing I want to do in that situation is pass to Erling. But it feels like that pass isn't on, so I decide to take the shot."