If Manchester United end the January transfer window without signing a new forward it will go down as a disappointment, but for those involved in recruitment at Old Trafford, there might be an even more terrifying prospect: saying no to Erik ten Hag.
The Dutchman has been public with his desire to sign a new forward and it's already clear from his first transfer window at the club - as well as his history at Ajax - that he is very good at putting pressure on the recruitment department and getting what he wants.
The players United signed in the summer were all on the club's shortlist, with Ten Hag having the final say, but he also pushed them to keep going when deals were proving difficult, convincing the club to shell out £225million in total, a record for one window.
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He was desperate to land Antony, to the point United ended up paying a lot more than they had originally budgeted for the 22-year-old, while the £70million deal for a 30-year-old Casemiro was out of kilter when it came to their approach in the transfer market in recent seasons.
Ten Hag has shown he is a persuasive character when it comes to strengthening his squad and while United are now dealing with the overspending in the summer, it's impossible to say it wasn't money well spent, given the improvement in the team this season and the part played by those new arrivals.
But the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo has left a hole in attack and Ten Hag wants a striker to fill it. That could put relations with football director John Murtough and his team to the test.
United were unable to match Liverpool's £37million move for Cody Gakpo and are looking at the loan market to boost Ten Hag's attacking options, rather than a permanent deal. Speaking before today's trip to Molineux to face Wolves, the United boss admitted it was difficult to do business at the top end of the market in January, but he isn't going to give up any time soon.
"It is always difficult," Ten Hag said. "Strikers are expensive and especially in the winter, you have to set the limits high and we are looking for it, so maybe we have to be creative.
"But we do everything that we have in our power to get it done and get the right player in who fits the balance of the frontlines.
"I don’t think you can judge that and rate it because it is about timing, it is about availability, it is about so many circumstances playing a role. Let's be fair, it is now the 27th of December, the window has not even started. So it's a long period."
Balancing the "financial and sporting criteria" has become the motto for United's January but there could be a clash there. Ten Hag's priority is development on the pitch and that is gathering pace. He knows to achieve a top-four finish and keep progressing in the cups he needs another forward. For the Glazers the finances are the priority and the summer window was considerably more expensive than expected.
But while Ten Hag might be demanding of those working closely with him on recruitment, it doesn't have to be a problem. He had a similar approach at Ajax but had an excellent relationship with their director of football Marc Overmars. Once again, it was accepted because it brought results.
There are certainly similarities at United. Before Ten Hag's arrival, Overmars was criticised as a director of football who refused to spend big. In the end, this approach was wise, giving Ten Hag a youthful but talented group to work with, but he convinced the club to loosen the purse strings as well.
According to Transfermarkt, Ajax spent more in 2018/19, 2019/20 and 2020/21 than they had in any previous seasons, shelling out between €53million and €63million in all three of those campaigns. In the previous nine seasons, they'd only once spent more than €25million on transfers.
Ten Hag and Overmars developed a reputation for signing players who made an impact at the club. Scroll through the list from those campaigns and there are very few duds. In Antony, Mohammed Kudus, Lisandro Martinez and Edson Alvarez they signed youngsters who have been or will be sold for a significant profit.
When they spent money on players with little resale value, such as Daley Blind, Dusan Tadic and Davy Klaasen, they still contributed to success on the pitch, in a way that Casemiro is now doing at Old Trafford.
Ten Hag clearly has an eye for a player and as a result, he seems to have a level of trust and understanding with his football directors. He also has a way of convincing clubs to keep pushing the boundaries when it comes to investment, so don't expect United to wave the white flag when it comes to signing a forward in January.
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