Manchester United knew they needed plenty of change this summer, and whether they like it or not, they have had plenty of it in the last few days. A week of farewells confirmed that Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata will all leave the club at the end of the month when their contracts expire, adding to the challenge Erik ten Hag faces in his initial rebuilding job.
They join Lee Grant, Nemanja Matic and Edinson Cavani in exiting the club and take United's departure lounge to six players even before they factor in those still contracted to the club who will be allowed to leave.
Ten Hag's big challenge this summer will be to offset those departures with his own new arrivals, though it is highly unlikely he will be able to replace every single player with a new acquisition in the transfer market.
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United have never spent more than £150million on permanent deals across a single window, and although spending is typically higher in summers when they have failed to qualify for the Champions League, it would be fanciful to expect anywhere near the ten new players Ralf Rangnick advised before his departure.
Five or six new signings would be the pinnacle for United this summer, while three or four seems the most likely, given the manner in which they have operated in the past. Therefore, Ten Hag will need to find cost-effective ways to address some problem positions this summer, and he might already have a trio of teenagers at the club who could help offset the loss of Lingard and Mata as a start.
Lingard made 22 appearances all season, with a total of 548 minutes, meaning his average time on the pitch was just shy of 25 minutes per appearance. Mata only made 12 appearances all season, with a total of 409 minutes, 173 of which came in the last three matches of the season as part of his farewell tour.
It means in order to replace the duo this summer, United don't necessarily need new signings but just players who can step into their peripheral roles and supplement the first-team squad as and when required. Hannibal Mejbri, Shola Shoretire and Alejandro Garnacho are all in with a chance of doing just that, and their own development plans could intersect perfectly with United's need for attacking options in reserve who won't be expecting to start every week.
The trio of youngsters are all stars for United at academy level already and are all at the awkward crossroads between not being ready for regular senior football and not being challenged enough in the youth ranks. Hannibal has effectively been a first-team player since he returned from the African Cup of Nations with Tunisia back in January and is expected to get even more senior exposure next season.
Shoretire is another who could be given more minutes under Ten Hag, having already made five first-team appearances, and his ability to play on the right wing could work to his advantage given United's lack of depth there.
Garnacho is arguably the most exciting player in the academy set-up right now, and he could effectively bypass the U23s set-up by going straight into the senior side this summer.
It is still probably too early for any of the trio to be starting matches in the first-team on a regular basis, but as replacements for fringe players like Lingard and Mata, they wouldn't need to.
Instead, the trio could all gain meaningful minutes in the first half of the season during both the Carabao Cup and the Europa League, which will give Ten Hag enough time to evaluate their progress before the January transfer window.
With so many problematic positions to address and so many departing players to replace this summer, United supporters can be under no illusion that some issues will need to be placed on the back burner before they can properly be addressed in the future.
United's free agents could be replaced by three talents instead.
