Journalist Pete O'Rourke insists that Manchester United will naturally be interested in signing Amadou Haidara in the January transfer window due to his connection with Ralf Rangnick.
Rangnick, recently appointed as United's interim manager until the end of the season, worked with Haidara during his time at RB Leipzig, where the midfielder remains, and O'Rourke believes that a deal is likely to be in the offing at the turn of the year.
What's the latest with Haidara?
The 23-year-old is a Mali international with 24 caps and two goals to his name and has become something of a key man during his time at Leipzig.
Having joined the club in 2019, when Rangnick was working as the head of sport and development within the RB club framework, Haidara has gone on to make 100 appearances for the club, scoring 10 goals.
He is a box-to-box midfielder and Rangnick has been credited as having a "love" for the player by RB Leipzig CEO Oliver Mintzlaff.
Speaking at a press conference, he said, per the Manchester Evening News: "Of course it is also a player that Ralf Rangnick loves."
Haidara has been heavily linked with a potential move to United and he has revealed that he supported the club as a child, while also hailing the influence of Rangnick on his career, per The Sun.
The Daily Mirror also reports that he has a £33m release clause written into his contract, meaning United know exactly what they need to pay to land their man.
What has O'Rourke said?
He told GiveMeSport: “Haidara, obviously, Rangnick will know all about him from his time at RB Leipzig so he’s an obvious target for the German at Old Trafford.”
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Is Haidara any good?
The Mali international is genuinely excellent and his statistics prove it.
Per fbref, he is statistically comparable to both Jude Bellingham at Borussia Dortmund, a player widely regarded as a wonderkid, and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic at Lazio, whom United have been linked with in the past.
This is an all-action performer in the centre of the park who knows what he's doing both on and off the ball.
Haidara is in the top 15% of Europe's midfielders for shots taken, shot-creating actions, progressive passes, touches in the attacking penalty area and blocks.
He gets up and down the pitch with no problem and offers genuine dynamism in the centre of the pitch.
He would bring some real zip to United's midfield if he were to be secured but it remains to be seen how expensive a deal may end up being.
He has a contract until 2025 but United know the price is £33m.
It would be worth it.