As the first decision of a crucial spring/summer period for Manchester United, it was a pretty solid one.
As anyone who has watched the club even passively over the past couple of years could tell you, Bruno Fernandes is most deserving of a lucrative new contract, such has been the impressive nature of his displays and his now crucial role at a club he seems to have been at for a lot longer than 26 months.
It was pre-pandemic times when the Portuguese first pitched up at Old Trafford in January 2020, but with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer quickly identifying the Fergie favourite he could compare him to ( Paul Scholes, obviously ) he would prove to be a perfect fit for this period in which United have sought to catch up to today's elite by remembering just who they are, or have been.
Having at least partially emerged from that with Solskjaer's sacking though, these next few months seem crucial to the next phase of the way back.
Ralf Rangnick's appointment as interim boss has proven to be somewhat overblown, with the German looking more like a man who has only coached in two of the last 10 seasons and less like the inspiration for everything Jurgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel have ever achieved, as he was billed.
He's only the interim boss for a reason though, and now comes a period when the right decisions simply have to be made if United are to get back to challenging near the top of the table and for the greatest honours again.
Fernandes, at 27 and clearly a leader for club and country, is one of the most important players in that attempted climb back, perhaps sharing top billing with Jadon Sancho and, if he can stay fit, Raphael Varane who is still only 28.
Cristiano Ronaldo, for all his headline-hogging, has no place in that, although it will be a brave person who tells him so with another year on his United contract and a World Cup in the middle of next season to prepare for.
He could almost be parked for now though, with Planet Ronaldo always orbiting whatever is going on back down on earth.
United have to be smart with their other decisions, and what follows next will be crucial.
The youngster Tahith Chong, currently on loan at Birmingham City, has seemingly been given extension to his United deal, as reported by the Manchester Evening News in the aftermath of the Fernandes announcement.
That will perhaps be to protect his value should a transfer away emerge this summer, but it is healthy protection of an asset at a time when the club are looking to do the same for their more important players.
Luke Shaw and Marcus Rashford are said to be next up for new contracts after Fernandes' deal, as per ESPN earlier this week, and again they look to be smart decisions.
Left-back Shaw is undoubtedly the club's best in the position, as well as a homegrown player and still somewhat unfathomably young at 26.
Rashford, meanwhile, has had his high-profile difficulties of late, but all the talk around a potential move for him does have a whiff of ramping up contract talks. As a local lad he won't want to leave after a few bad games, and things could just as easily turn for him soon.
What's more, United's striking problems due to a variety of issues mean that the club still need him, and they would surely be fearful of what he could achieve elsewhere were he to leave.
Five players who do seem certain to leave, though, are Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard, Edinson Cavani, Juan Mata and Lee Grant, all of whom will be out of contract at the end of June.
Pogba is obviously the headline act there, but with no progress on contract talks and Fernandes clearly and now financially the main man, it seems clear that everyone just needs a fresh start in the Frenchman's story.
Elsewhere the same can be said for Lingard, while Cavani doesn't seem to want to be at the club any more and Mata and Grant are peripheral figures no longer needed.
The biggest decision of all is still to come of course, with the club's new manager still no closer to being identified amid claim and counter claim over favourites and job interviews.
As of now it would surely be a surprise if neither one of Mauricio Pochettino or Erik ten Hag were not in the dugout for United's first game of next season, by which point they'll hope that a series of further right decisions have been made.
Because while Fernandes is a very good start, so much more needs to go right for the club to climb back towards a status they once took for granted.
