In what has been a particularly depressing week for Manchester United fans, the news of Erling Braut Haaland's exploits in the Bundesliga will do nothing to lighten the mood at Old Trafford.
The Norwegian became one of European football's hottest prospects this season with an impressive scoring run at Red Bull Salzburg. United were keen to sign the 19-year-old but talks broke down with agent Mino Raiola and he was snapped up by Borussia Dortmund.
If his first two appearances are anything to go by, missing out on Haaland may haunt United fans for years to come.
Scores a 23 minute hat-trick on his Dortmund debut 💛
Like this tweet if you wish your club had signed Erling Haaland 😩😩pic.twitter.com/Z1YXzQLmU0— Soccer AM (@SoccerAM) January 20, 2020
In his debut against Augsburg he scored a 23 minute hat-trick after coming on as a second half substitute to help his side to a 5-3 win.
This surprisingly wasn't enough to earn him a starting place for his second game against Cologne on Friday night, but midway through the second half he came on and bagged another two goals in a 5-1 home win.
This took his scoring tally to five goals in just 59 minutes, a whopping strike rate of a goal every 12 minutes. He is the first player ever in the Bundesliga to score five in his first two appearances, and he has already scored more league goals in 2020 than Manchester United (four).
Haaland's release clause meant that Dortmund were able to sign him for a fee believed to be in the region of €20 million, an absolute steal when you consider the type of transfer fee he may command in the future.
Meanwhile United's transfer woes continue in this January window as they struggle to add to their attacking options with Marcus Rashford out with injury. Haaland's blistering start is something that Ed Woodward really could have done without.
