Manchester United missed out on Erling Haaland’s signature back in 2019 and a club legend has a brutal reality check for them as they circle the star striker again.

Borussia Dortmund signed Haaland from Red Bull Salzburg two years ago after United refused to meet a key condition of the transfer, understood to be the value of the buy-out clause.

It was reported at the time that United had enough money to meet Haaland’s €20m release clause.

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Now United are one of four Premier League teams alongside Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool eyeing the Norwegian but former Red Devils striker Andy Cole is not confident in their chances.

Once again he does not think money will be an issue.

Instead, he claims their lack of success in recent years could work against them against the other league heavyweights.

“To get these guys to come, Haaland for instance, you’ve got to entice them with something,” Cole told the Mirror.

“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?”

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Haaland has tasted plenty of success since joining Dortmund, scoring 43 goals from 44 appearances and has La Liga giants Real Madrid and Barcelona also intrigued.

His release clause, which comes into play in the summer of 2022, is understood be worth £75 million ($A135m).

Cole himself may have signed to join United but he believes the club can no longer “ride on its name alone” and that money alone will not secure them prized signings like Haaland.

“It’s not like when I signed for United. We have to be brutally honest, back then everybody wanted to go there,” he said.

“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.”