It is hard to imagine Manchester United's season panning out the way it has if not for the signing of Casemiro late last summer. United had initially communicated in early July that they were prepared to go the whole transfer window without adding an outright defensive midfielder, such was Erik ten Hag's eagerness to be reunited with Frenkie de Jong instead.
Sources cited the four deep-lying options of Scott McTominay, Fred, Donny van de Beek and James Garner as options should they not make any further additions.
Then plans were ripped up. Ten Hag acknowledged the lack of a 'six holding midfield position' as part of the reason why his side had lost to Brighton and Brentford in the first two matches of the season, and United took drastic action to address that.
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On the 100th day since United first targeted De Jong, they announced an agreement to sign the Real Madrid defensive midfielder instead.
Even before he had played a match, Casemiro had made a huge impact at Old Trafford, as he was paraded on the pitch prior to the win over Liverpool, helping to galvanise the home crowd ahead of a win that would transform their season.
It took a while before he was properly integrated into the side, as Ten Hag preferred to reward McTominay for his fine form, but a 6-3 thrashing at Man City finally saw their summer signing thrown in. Casemiro has started every Premier League game he's been available for since.
The 31-year-old has been nothing short of a revelation for United this season, and is the only real contender to Marcus Rashford for the club's own Player of the Year award.
United will hope that they can make an equally transformative signing this summer as they go in search of an elite striker who can fire them to the Premier League title.
The Manchester Evening News revealed earlier this month Harry Kane is Ten Hag's prime striker target as he approaches the final year of his contract at Tottenham. Napoli star Victor Osimhen also remains of interest, while Ten Hag is an admirer of Benfica frontman Goncalo Ramos and Mohammed Kudus of Ajax.
It is understandable why Ten Hag believes Kane would be the best immediate fix for his side, but the notable issue is how difficult it would be to lure him away from North London.
Even though he will only have a year left on his current deal by the summer, Tottenham will be reluctant to sell their star player, particularly to a domestic rival, and he would likely require a club-record fee.
There is also the challenge of negotiating with chairman Daniel Levy, who has repeatedly succeeded in refusing to sell the club's most coveted players to Premier League clubs.
United paid the price last summer for engaging in long-drawn-out negotiations for De Jong before they finally had to accept defeat and move on to an alternative; they can't afford to repeat it again this year.
Ten Hag wants to have his summer signings in place as early as possible, preferably in time for their US tour, which could compromise any move for Kane.
If he is the player that Ten Hag wants the most, then they must do everything in their power to sign him, but also set themselves a strict deadline before they move onto other targets.
With the target of a proper Premier League challenge next season, United will need to hit the ground running with their new signings integrated from the start.
United stumbled across the perfect midfield signing last summer; they might not be so lucky next time.
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