'Tis the season to waste money.
Every year, we tell ourselves not to get swept up in the Christmas buzz and spend that extra £20 on those unneeded novelty items, and every year we still end up with lighter and lighter pockets.
We scan the shelves briefly and bundle things into our baskets without a thought for our bank balances.
The modern day Manchester United have never been a frugal football club, but you can't help but wonder that planning to spend £76million on Erling Braut Haaland is the result of a rush of blood too.
Just like those Lynx Africa gift sets, Haaland is not short of suitors, but United, waving their wads of cash, have barged and pushed their way to the front of the queue.
Haaland has been on United's wishlist since the summer, and there is already huge excitement around the striker potentially being unwrapped next month.
Beating the likes of Real Madrid, Juventus and Barcelona to his signature would not only underline United's position as big hitters in the transfer market, but it would also lay down a statement of ambition.
The Red Bull Salzburg striker has been in red-hot form this season, returning an astonishing 28 goals from his 22 games, and is widely considered one of the brightest prospects in world football.
United's reformed transfer policy under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer focuses on the recruitment of young talents such as Haaland, who knows the Norwegian boss well having worked with him during his days at Molde.
On the surface, he seems to tick all the boxes. But it still feels all a little bit rash from United. Why do they need to spend £76m on Haaland when Marcus Rashford is in the form of his life?
The 22-year-old has scored 14 goals in his last 16 games for club and country and has already netted more times for United this term than he has in any other season.
The talent has unquestionably always been there, but this season it feels like Rashford is coming of age with the United striker delivering on a consistent basis.
He has netted more times than Sergio Aguero, Tammy Abraham, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane in all competitions this season while only four players in the Premier League have scored more and been involved in more goals than him.
It seems fanciful to think that Haaland could offer anything better than Rashford is at the moment.
Rashford has been used down the middle at times this season but has mainly been operating from the left, where he has been scoring freely.
It has allowed Martial to play centrally - a position the Frenchman prefers.
If Haaland were to sign for United it could mean that Rashford either stays on the left or gets replaced by Martial, who has also been used in that position.
Either that or Rashford and Martial both keep their place and Haaland would sit on the bench. But why would you pay £76m for a striker if he is not going to start every game?
Former United striker Dimitar Berbatov made an interesting point this week when he questioned where Haaland would fit in.
With Rashford, Martial and Mason Greenwood already around, throwing in Haaland into the equation just seems to complicate matters.
Greenwood has been described as the best finisher at the club by Solskjaer and has three in his last three and eight in total for the season.
Part of the United boss' strategy is to give opportunities to homegrown players but signing Haaland would undoubtedly take them away from players like Greenwood.
Although Haaland has been banging them in at a phenomenal rate in Austria and in the Champions League, you could argue that Greenwood, who is a year younger, is just as good.
And it would make little sense to part with such a large amount of money when United already have the equivalent of a young, goalscoring striker in Greenwood.
United are in a period of transition right now and they can't afford to make hasty decisions which will impact the club in the years to come.
They need to get the recruitment process right, and spending £76m on Haaland does not seem like smart business.
That money would be better served by being spent on a defender or midfielder, areas where United are in need of investment.
United do not have a bottomless pit of money and, like we all must do at this time of year when something shiny and fancy catches our eye, they must ask themselves if they really need to spend that amount on Haaland and if they even need him at all.
ManUtdRed
1737
I have said this many time before that we don't need Haaland,even if he is available for 17m,the reason why Rashford is getting in good position bcoz Martial is pulling CB out of their position as he drops deep,Haaland on the other hand likes to be in the box which will restrict the game of Rasford. By having a player like Martial in the team we can even play Greenwood on the RW as he will allow Greenwood and Rashford to get into goalscoring position by sacrificimg himself,Haaland will destroy everything. It's not FIFA where even the front three of Kane,Aguero and Lewandowski will work,in reality we need balance in the team,Martial is the one who provides balance in the team even if he's not playing well. The fact is our teams plays better when Martial is in the team.
kalusha333
1462
Liverpool have origi right,beside salah,mane and firmino...pls think well ooo,we need all we can gt...we can't depend on just rash alone
lord_series
446
so what happens when Martial gets injured like he does earlier this season, rashford will be forced to play CF again, a position he's not comfortable in, a club like United needs about 2players that is able to replace an injured player, look at city, and even United during sir Alex time, it reduces fatigue in players and also improves the team through competition, moreover the weight and responsibility of a first team shouldn't be placed on greenwood yet and solskjaer prefers to play in on the right due to the fact that he's a left footer coming in with his left to goal which has helped him score goals, greenwood's talent can get wasted if played as a sole striker, so harland is very much needed
jerrymwas
234
Rashford plays best as a left winger where he can cut in into his favourite right foot.... Haaland on the other hand is an out and out striker.... the main target man like lukaku..... so yeah we need Haaland and Rashford together..... we can even play with a 4-4-2 formation if Haaland and Sancho come in.... with Rashford taking left wing.... Sancho right wing.... and Martial and Haaland leading the line.... that's how we used to play long ago under SAF.... and that's how Ole played in his playing days.... so we need both of them.....
nisdmrty
218
We need Haaland for rotation and a different style of attack which will not allow opposing defenders predict how to man mark Rashford , Martial , Greenwood and even Daniel James .