With less than three weeks to go until Manchester United's opening game of pre-season, supporters are patiently awaiting the club's first signing of the summer transfer window.
Unless anything changes in the next seven days, United are going to go the third successive June without making a signing. The only way that risk might disappear is if they manage to thrash out terms with Chelsea to bring Mason Mount to Old Trafford.
It is the deal to bring Mount to M16 that United are, even if it is proving slow, making the most progress with so far this summer. Uncertainty surrounding the takeover situation means the Reds are having to play a patient game, even though it risks leaving them lagging behind their rivals.
Manager Erik ten Hag, who enjoyed a successful first season at the club, has grand ambitions to strengthen his squad this summer and build on the foundations that were laid in 2022/23. He has prioritised signing a midfielder and a world-class striker while the addition of a new first-choice goalkeeper is now high up on his wish list.
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As with any transfer window, patience will be required. But when United fans look round and see the progress Manchester City are making with Mateo Kovacic, the bids Arsenal have put on the table for Declan Rice and the fact Liverpool have already wrapped up the signing of Alexis MacAllister, you can understand their frustrations.
But with the takeover saga, which recently passed its seven-month anniversary, showing no signs of reaching its conclusion, it is hardly surprising that United have been slow out of the traps. It is not helping their pursuit of a world-class striker, though the club is understood to have resources in place to solve that search sooner rather than later.
Tottenham Hotspur ace Harry Kane has, of course, been installed as Ten Hag's top target, but United are operating under the assumption that the Londoners will not allow their star asset to depart this summer. It means the Reds have drawn up a list of alternatives and they are continuing to monitor those on that list, such as Atalanta's Rasmus Hojlund and Randal Kolo Muani of Eintracht Frankfurt.
Though the addition of a world-class No.9 is paramount in United's recruitment drive this summer, many believe that the Reds, depending on their budget, should be on the hunt for two strikers. Uncertainty surrounds Anthony Martial's future at Old Trafford this summer and the prospect of him departing, presuming the club does bring in a new striker, would leave them with just one centre-forward.
In the event of their new addition getting injured, United would then be left with no back-up option to rely on. It is a risk that the club has got to decide whether they are prepared to take, even though Martial's future will, of course, dictate their thinking.
But in the event of Martial, who missed large chunks of the most recent campaign through injury, departing, United would require a new back-up option, both in case of injury and to provide depth and cover. It is why the club, taking into account uncertainties surrounding the size of Ten Hag's budget, should have considered a move for French international Marcus Thuram.
The 25-year-old is out-of-contract at Borussia Monchengladbach next week and is available on a free transfer. He has been linked with several big-name clubs across Europe, including Paris Saint-Germain and Roma, but has now agreed to join Inter Milan.
The Italian giants are inheriting a striker who plundered 16 goals in the 2022/23 campaign for nothing. It has the potential to be a very shrewd addition after four successful seasons in Germany, in which he scored 44 goals and registered 29 assists in league and cup.
Thuram is a quick, mobile and physically strong centre-forward, meaning he would have ticked several boxes for Ten Hag. The Dutchman likes his front-three to be built on pace and fluidity, meaning the French international would have been well-suited.
On paper, Thuram is not the world-class, elite-level No.9 that United are looking for this summer, but he would have been a sensible addition to the squad, even if he would have become the understudy to the first-choice striker the club still wants to sign. Furthermore, at the age of 25, there is still potential for him to grow and get even better.
Time will, of course, tell if United have missed a trick not turning to an established goalscorer available on a free transfer. For the Reds' sake, let's hope it does not turn out to be a decision they regret.
