It was a summer of change at Manchester United, but one thing remained the same. Erik ten Hag was backed with a record budget of £225.4m on six new signings, such was the club's faith in him and commitment to giving him what he deemed necessary.
The Dutchman was given the authority to pursue whoever he wanted, with the club interjecting where necessary to veto certain requests. Antony, Christian Eriksen, Lisandro Martinez and Tyrell Malacia were all specifically endorsed by the manager over other targets and were supplemented by the recruitment department's recommendations of Casemiro and Martin Dubravka.
United's resurgent run of form in recent weeks has endorsed Ten Hag's eye as a talent spotter and given how predominantly his summer signings have featured, it could well give him even more power to pursue whoever he wants next year.
