In what was beginning to look a lot like a season of disappointment in the build-up to Christmas, there has been a rejuvenation around Manchester United.
Ralf Rangnick has arrived on a wave of excitement with a fresh, no-nonsense approach. Plans have been confirmed for a long overdue revamp of Old Trafford and the club are looking at ways to improve their squad in the transfer windows next year.
Most fans will have placed a new midfielder on top of their transfer wish-list this festive period, but news this week of a renewed interest in superstar striker Erling Haaland has fuelled even wilder fantasies for many supporters.
United still have a lot of work to do if they are to convince the Norwegian striker to move to Old Trafford a month after sacking his Molde mentor, though for some supporters the mere interest is enough to satisfy short-term needs.
To win the Premier League title again, United will need to strengthen defensively, but in today's English football climate, scoring goals is more important than keeping them out at the other end.
Even after the signing of Cristiano Ronaldo, there is a need for further firepower up front at Old Trafford and Haaland fits the bill perfectly as a gluttonous goal-getter who can also bring others into play.
United attempted to sign him from RB Salzburg in a €20 million deal nearly two years ago. Instead, he opted for Borussia Dortmund and a project that has complimented him perfectly at a club renowned as the perfect stepping stone for any young talent.
United blamed agent Mino Raiola for the collapse of a move and senior club sources described the proposed terms of the transfer as 'bad for the industry'. United refused to agree to a release clause and a percentage of future sales.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's fate as manager might have been different had he managed to sign Haaland back in January of 2020, but the fortunes of United since then have only reinforced the prophecy that his compatriot made the right choice to move to Germany instead.
"You never know how it would go in other clubs," Alf-Inge Haaland said three months after the confirmation of his son's move to Dortmund. "It may well have been good, too, if we had chosen a different route. We’ll never get an answer to that. However, we are very pleased with the clubs where he has played.
"You have to go to a club where the whole club wants you, not just the coach.
"I think that’s the most important thing, in addition to how the club has been over the last five or ten years and what direction they’ve taken. Because it’s dangerous to just sign for a coach, because he can suddenly be sacked."
Haaland has since proven he is a player any manager would want to work with, though the reluctance to sign for a club that has no clear long-term development plan clearly hampered United.
Rangnick has recently spoken to Haaland's father about the possibility of his son signing for United next year, and the pair retain a cordial relationship from when the former was Red Bull sporting director and oversaw Haaland's move to RB Salzburg from Molde in 2018.
The arrival of Rangnick could be a huge step in the right direction with regards to a successful pursuit of Haaland, given the German's own experience of working at a similar stepping stone Bundesliga side, while the interim manager is also someone who cuts to the chase and has no interest in making hollow promises for a short-term gain.
If United are going to win the fierce race for the 21-year-old's signature, they need not only to match the financial muscles of Europe's elite clubs, but to also convince Haaland and his father that they are deserving of the chance to nurture his talent.
Two years after their first failed transfer approach, we are about to find out just how much progress United have really made when it comes to recruitment.
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