Andy Cole has warned that Manchester United will have to offer something more than name recognition if they want to entice Erling Haaland to Old Trafford.
United have already missed out on Haaland once, with the Norwegian forward opting to move to Borussia Dortmund from RB Salzburg in January 2020, but they retain an interest in him thanks to his links with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after the two worked together at Molde.
Yet, with 43 goals in 44 competitive games for Dortmund, there is understandably plenty of interest in the 20-year-old, who has a release clause in his contract that will come into force in 2022.
Former United forward Cole believes that the amount of interest in Haaland means that his old club will have to work hard if they want to secure the striker's signature.
Speaking to the Daily Mirror, Cole said that United's wait for a Premier League title means they cannot offer players guaranteed success in comparison to their rivals.
"To get these guys to come, Haaland for instance, you've got to entice them with something," he said. "You've got to entice them with the possibility of winning silverware or being a year away from it.
"These guys are going to have other options, possibly Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Real Madrid, maybe Barcelona.
"If you're playing and have the option of all these clubs, where would United really figure at this moment in time? Even though I love United, I don't think the club now can ride on its name alone, especially when you're trying to bring these players in."
He continued: "It's not like when I signed for United. We have to be brutally honest, back then everybody wanted to go there. We're talking 2021 now. Does everyone want to go to United now? I'm not quite sure everyone wants to now.
"Football's such a short career now and everybody wants to win. People talk about money, but top players don't think about that, they think about winning things. That's ultimately what it's about, because you'll be judged on what you win by the time your career finishes.
"You've got to be a great salesman now, to be able to sell these players the football club, knowing you can't guarantee winning the league next season, particularly if City win it by 20 points."
