Every time Erling Braut Haaland scores for Borussia Dortmund, you can virtually hear the groans from Manchester United fans.

It looks like United missed out on the next superstar striker - a youngster whose value might be over £100 million in a matter of months. Their inability to close out a deal is another stick with which to beat vice-chairman Ed Woodward.

What makes it worse is United did not lose out on Haaland’s signature to Barcelona or Real Madrid. To neutrals - and the most critical United fans - it is a sign of their diminishing status in the transfer market that Haaland chose an aspirational Bundesliga side over a club of United’s stature. But this is a bandwagon I will not jump aboard.

It is often said in football there are three key parties in a transfer who must reach agreement - the player, the buyers and the selling club. That is an incomplete story. There is a fourth who can never be underestimated: the agent.

Whoever signed Haaland from RB Salzburg knew they were not only getting an amazing young talent - they were also inviting the circus into town in the form of his representative, Mino Raiola. United, like every club scouting the Norwegian teenager, had to weigh up the value of the player against the cost of the distracting influence of his high-profile advisor.