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Erling-Braut Haaland has been the name on every club board's lips since a meteoric rise in his still nascent career. He sent shock waves across the world when he plundered nine goals in a single game for Norway against a hapless Honduras defence in the U-20 World Cup held this year and has never looked back since.
Having moved from Molde FK to Austrian heavyweights RB Salzburg, Haaland has been in red-hot form so far this season.
In eight Austrian Bundesliga games so far he has scored 11 goals, and 17 in 10 games across all competitions. He had a dream Champions League debut by scoring a hat-trick as RB Salzburg defeated Belgian side Genk 6-2. The feat made him only the second teenager after Wayne Rooney since 2004 to score a Champions League hat-trick on debut.
Transfer interest
Haaland's prolific start to the season has already sent birds chirping across Europe to get the worm early. RB Salzburg's games are watched closely and particular interest is being shown in the Leeds-born Norwegian youth international.
Among the many clubs who have had scouts attend the games include the Premier League duo of Manchester United and Arsenal as well as Spanish giants FC Barcelona who seem to be the earliest ones in attendance and have been monitoring the striker's progress for a while now.
Should they be front-runners, the tussle between the trio for availing the striker's service should prove to be an interesting battle to witness.
Solksjaer tilts the balance?
A part where the pendulum could swing in Manchester United's way is Haaland's relationship with their boss Ole Gunnar Solksjaer who coached Haaland during his tenure at Molde.
"He taught me a lot," said Haaland before adding "he won the Champions League and was an incredibly good player. He has had a huge impact on my life, both as a person and as a trainer."
The future
The son of former Manchester City and Nottingham Forest defender Alf-Inge Haaland, Erling has already made mention of his desire to play football in England which could initiate whispers as well as phones and wallets at the ready.
His father has also expressed happiness at the interest shown in his son at present and admitted that he would be happy to see United sign his son despite having played for their city rivals from 2003 to 2006.
Perfect for United
Having sold forwards Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez (on loan) to Inter, Ole and his side are struggling to find the back of the net having scored just eight goals in six Premier League games out of which one was a 4-0 win on opening day against Chelsea.
The injury to first-choice striker Marcus Rashford further adds to United's woes and with no frontline striker present, manager Ole could be persuaded to get the striker to Old Trafford in January.
Haaland's inclusion would somewhat ameliorate United's attack and maybe even relieve the pressure put on Manchester United's young guns to step up and score the goals in the absence of players like Rashford and Anthony Martial.
His young age means he is sure to come somewhat cheap within United's threshold and if the current form of the forward is anything to go by, United would no doubt strike gold in their investment in the young attacking talent.
