How successful can a transfer window be if you do not fill the highest priority position with the first-choice target that you spent practically all summer chasing? Still moderately successful, it turns out. For a long time it felt like Manchester United’s summer would be defined by whether or not they could sign Frenkie de Jong. Yet at 11pm on September 1, not long after a third straight win for Erik ten Hag’s side, De Jong, Barcelona and the matter of those deferred wages felt like a distant memory.
That is despite the fact that, even after spending £229m – a club record for a single window – Ten Hag could perhaps still do with a midfielder. A centre-forward would not go amiss either, and the late interest in a potential switch at right-back suggested he and the club feel there is room for improvement there too. On the back of last season and their lowest points tally of the Premier League era, United’s rebuild was always going to be a big job. It is underway and there has been progress, but with the deadline now passed, the job remains unfinished.
