To a demographic of younger fans bought up on a diet of Football Manager and FIFA, the transfer window needs winning as much as the football does. In fact, it can often feel like transfers elicit more excitement than the actual action on the pitch.
The success of those games has made everyone a director of football and opinions on who should be signed and who should be sold are entrenched, often without any realisation of the complexities involved. Given their army of fans worldwide, no club has as many armchair recruitment experts as Manchester United.
There are plenty of dream transfer windows doing the rounds on social media, but not many of them are conceived within the realities of how United are operating this summer. A budget of around £100 to £120million has been halved with the deal to sign Mason Mount from Chelsea.
That is the Football Manager reality holding United's transfer business back. Sales can boost it, but little progress has been made on that front so far.
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The signing of Mount will mean United will seek to sell Fred, with Fulham interested but put off by a £20m price tag. Donny van de Beek is another potential midfield departure, but is recovering from a serious knee injury and hasn't played enough football to put himself in the shop window.
One of the issues facing United is that the player who is maybe their most sellable asset and the player for who a deal could be done most quickly is Dean Henderson, but he also plays in the position that is most uncertain. Nottingham Forest want to sign the 26-year-old and United could easily raise in excess of £20m, but they have no clue who their goalkeeper will be next season.
This is now part of the problem as Erik ten Hag and John Murtough consider their next move in the transfer window. A striker has long been considered the priority, but a goalkeeper could now also be required. A remaining budget of £50m to £60m won't be able to fund both of those deals.
United could yet raise significant funds with sales, but they can't afford to let Henderson go at the moment. They also can't sell Anthony Martial when they don't have another striker lined up. This is the compromise that Ten Hag might have to make.
The goalkeeping position has become the most pressing with David de Gea now a free agent after his contract expired on Friday, although he could yet re-sign for the club next week. The 32-year-old got married this weekend but more face-to-face talks over a potential new deal are planned.
If no deal is agreed, Henderson is unsellable at the moment. He could start next season as a first-choice, but it's more likely Ten Hag pushes ahead with plans to sign a new goalkeeper, with interest in Inter Milan's Andre Onana.
That would wipe out the rest of the budget and leave United having to sell to fund a move for a striker, in a window when the valuations on forwards are rocketing. Atalanta's Rasmus Hojlund is of interest to Ten Hag, but after nine goals last season in Serie A he has been priced at €100m, a fee United will go nowhere near given his lack of experience.
With the pursuit of Harry Kane already over and Napoli insistent that Victor Osimhen won't be allowed to leave, it could be that United look at B-list targets, such as Eintracht Frankfurt's Randal Kolo Muani and Goncalo Ramos of Benfica. Both would be expensive in this market, however.
Without the addition of a striker United cannot consider allowing Martial to leave if interest emerges in the France international. He has the No. 9 shirt and as things stand is the only out-and-out striker in the squad next season.
As United consider their next move, this is the dilemma they are wrestling with. Is it really achievable to sign a new goalkeeper and a new striker? In a computer game, maybe. In reality, it's going to be extremely difficult.
So as much as Ten Hag might want two invaluable positions, at either end of the pitch, improved for next season, he might not get his wish. De Gea doesn't suit his team in goal and Martial doesn't suit his side in attack. Beyond the stylistic concerns, it's arguable that neither are good enough any more anyway.
But one of them might have to remain in the side next season, unless Ten Hag can find a way to significantly increase that transfer budget.
