Nearly a month after Manchester United returned to the Champions League, they have yet to make a move in the summer transfer market.
When United beat Chelsea 4-1 at Old Trafford on May 25 to secure an immediate return to Europe's elite club competition, Eri ten Hag warned they needed “better players” to compete there.
“We need more," said Ten Hag. “Now we are far away, so we have a lot of work to do. We've made progress, but we need better players if we want to compete for the highest. But I don't have so much patience, that is one of my mistakes.”
United's protracted takeover saga, coupled with the historic reluctance of the Glazers to spend big after Champions League qualification, has compromised Ten Hag's hopes of bolstering his squad.
Ten Hag sat down with United director of football and technical director Darren Fletcher back in early spring to identify targets, as well as outgoings, in bid to move early in the transfer market.
But those best-laid plans have stalled, with the Glazers refusing to sanction spending until the takeover situation is resolved, a situation which is understood to have infuriated Ten Hag.
The United manager's frustration will be compounded by rivals Manchester City moving swiftly to sign Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea, Liverpool's capture of Alexis MacAllister and Arsenal's early move for West Ham midfielder Declan Rice.
While their immediate rivals are getting their transfer business done early, well before they return for pre-season, United are beset by a familiar tale of inertia in the transfer market.
Since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement a decade ago, United have spent an average of £93.1m on transfers in the summers following Champions League qualification.
Yet that figure almost doubles to around £182m in seasons without Champions League football, a trend that appears to be continuing this summer, with their failure to move in the market.
Despite receiving additional money by qualifying for the Champions League, as well as increased sponsorship revenues, United are historically more frugal, as ex-bosses Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer can testify.
Ten Hag wants at least three players to strengthen his squad – a striker, midfielder and goalkeeper - and has identified targets for all of those positions.
But Ten Hag's hands are currently tied while the future of United's ownership remains unresolved, with other clubs ready to take full advantage and move in on the Dutchman's transfer targets.
Tottenham's Harry Kane, Napoli's Victor Osimhen and Atalanta's Rasmus Hojlund are on Ten Hag's striker short-list, while Chelsea's Mason Mount, Barcelona's Frenkie De Jong and Brighton's Moises Caicedo make up the midfield targets.
Ten Hag is looking to sign a new No.1 goalkeeper, with David De Gea out of contract on June 30 and yet to agree new terms. Porto's Diogo Costa, Everton's Jordan Pickford, and Brentford's David Raya are among Ten Hag's options.
Again, though, United's failure to move quickly could see them lose out on targets, with Raya said to be close to joining Tottenham.
For Ten Hag, last season's progress is being undermined with every day that United fail to act in the market. By his own admission, Ten Hag is impatient. Currently, that lack of patience is being pushed to the limit by the Glazers.
