Zidane Iqbal's sudden exit from Manchester United may have come as an initial surprise but it soon began to make sense.
While a promising local youngster's departure is always tinged with sadness, the brutal reality is that at present Iqbal was highly unlikely to break into the United starting XI on a regular basis. He was named in a match-day squad 17 times last season but never managed to make an appearance for Erik ten Hag.
It's not that the manager is afraid of giving youth a chance. Alejandro Garnacho became an integral member of the squad and Kobbie Mainoo made three appearances.
The 18-year-old's rapid development has seen him overtake Iqbal in the midfield pecking order and with Ten Hag wanting to make further additions to the position in the transfer market, spots are at a premium. That's what has seen Iqbal leave Old Trafford after 11 years and head for Utrecht.
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It's the sort of cut-throat decision Ten Hag has wanted United to begin making. But now they must do the same for players further up the ladder.
A decade of poor transfer planning, squad building and contract mismanagement has left United with a hulking squad that struggles to ever take off under the strain of its own weight. There are still - for now at least - players who were signed under Sir Alex Ferguson and every manager (other than David Moyes) since his departure from the club.
Not only does that show how much of a ramshackle, hodge-podge squad United have, an ugly blanket sewn together using mismatched materials, but it betrays the stagnancy that befell United. Players who have underperformed for years have repeatedly avoided the chopping block and been given new contracts rather than jettisoned.
You only need to look across the way at Manchester City, who have waved goodbye to at least one club-defining legend every summer for the last seven years when sentiment easily could have seen them stay. No player at United has achieved anything close to the likes of David Silva, Yaya Toure, Fernandinho, Vincent Kompany or Ilkay Gundogan at Old Trafford, yet City are always moving on and growing while United remain shackled to mediocrity.
That is until, potentially, this summer. Going into the transfer window MEN Sport reported that Ten Hag wants United to be more ruthless with its squad clearout as he looks to build upon his promising maiden campaign. That means a lot of outgoings.
Captain Harry Maguire, Anthony Martial, Alex Telles, Eric Bailly and Brandon Williams were the first names to be made available for a transfer this summer but they are not the only ones with uncertain futures. Dean Henderson, Victor Lindelof, Facundo Pellistri, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Donny van de Beek, Anthony Elanga, Fred, Scott McTominay and Hannibal have all been linked with possible departures.
And then there is the ultimate example: David de Gea. The goalkeeper has been a great servant to the club and was often the one lone spark in some dark years but he is now well past his peak and is clearly not capable of playing to Ten Hag's ideal.
De Gea's current contract is set to expire by the end of the month and though United could trigger a year extension they are yet to do so. They are instead trying to negotiate a new longer deal with reduced terms as the 32-year-old is one of the top-paid players at the club. But it's looking increasingly like an agreement won't be met.
That is nothing to be scared of. You can only move forward by letting go of the past and De Gea is symbolic of United's decade of decline. He is not good enough and United will not reach the next level with him between the sticks.
United obviously can't get rid of all 15 players in a single summer as it would leave their squad severely depleted but the fact so many could feasibly be sold shows how terrible they have been at moving on deadwood for years. It would be harsh to place Iqbal in that bracket given he's such a young player, but his ruthless departure is exactly what Ten Hag wants.
There are still concerns over United's haplessness in getting big fees for players. They have raised less than £1million from Iqbal whereas City routinely sell players with a similar level of experience and potential at £15million+ a pop. But that's an issue to be solved another day.
For now, regardless of what fees they get, United need to continue being as ruthless as Ten Hag wants so he can take the club to a brighter future.
