Manchester United are reportedly the "only serious bidder" (Sport Bild, via Sport Witness) in the race for Erling Haaland, with Ralf Rangnick seemingly looking to make an instant impact in his newly appointed role as manager of the club.

The Red Devils have been struggling for some time to establish dominance in both the Premier League and European tournaments, which has led to them not winning a single trophy since 2017 when they won the Europa League with Jose Mourinho, setting the club up for their longest trophy drought in 31 years.

Rangnick has made no secret that he wants to make changes at Old Trafford: "My opinion on winter transfers is clear. It needs to be a player who improves the quality, who improves the team to get better, it needs to be a high-quality player, no matter in which area of the pitch."

With that being said, it is no wonder that Haaland is on the radar for Manchester United, with the youngster scoring 19 goals and bagging five assists already for Borussia Dortmund this season in just 15 appearances.

The 21 year old, who has been hailed "lethal" by Thierry Henry, has impressively scored more goals (76) than he has played games (74) for the Bundesliga side.

"Other players will go on the wing - he wants to stay within the frame of the net. Between the two posts, he knows he is lethal," Henry said.

"He's so powerful, by the way. He just wants to run in behind and the way he finishes is ridiculous."

What's the problem?

There is however one major issue with Haaland, which stands in the way of the potential signing - his agent, Mino Raiola, who has been vocal on many occasions about his issues with the Manchester club.

Raiola, who is the agent of current United player, Paul Pogba, has made many controversial statements about the club over the years of his involvement and dealings with them.

The super agent launched a scathing attack on the club recently saying: "It’s a club out of touch with reality and without a sporting project. I wouldn’t take anyone there. They would even ruin [Diego] Maradona, Pele and [Paolo] Maldini.”

The 54 year old has been in a back and forth with Manchester United for a while over Pogba, who is out of contract in the summer, but if Haaland was to seal a deal with Rangnick, they will need to build bridges to develop a positive working relationship.

There is every chance that Raiola could entice his client to go elsewhere due to the fractured relationship with the Red Devils, with a large number of successful clubs also interested in the 21 year old, including Bayern Munich and Manchester City.

Given the frankly ridiculous goal record and list of plaudits boasted by Haaland, missing out due to the issues with Raiola would be a colossal blow for Rangnick, especially if he joins Manchester City instead.

In other news: Ralf Rangnick must axe Anthony Martial