Some say that a club should never buy a player because of their performance at a World Cup, but what about the players that Manchester United were already interested in?
Denzel Dumfries, Enzo Fernandez and Cody Gakpo have all previously been linked with a move to Old Trafford, but moves never materialised. Now with the World Cup coming to a close and United in need of reinforcements in January, have their performances in the competition affected their opinions on these players?
Dumfries is a strange case. In many ways, he is a lot like former Chelsea wing-back Marcus Alonso in how he crashes into the box like a steam train and always finds himself in goalscoring positions.
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However, like Alonso he has his issues. He is not that technically proficient on the ball and his defensive work rate means he could struggle in a team that plays a four at the back formation as opposed to a five.
Dumfries had one stand-out performance at the World Cup against the United States, scoring one goal and registering two assists but in the Netherlands' other games, he wasn't as effective. He struggle to hold width and was often marked out of the game, it was only because Antonee Robinson pushed so high in the round of 16 match that the Inter Milan wing-back had so much space to operate in.
So, personally, he is a player that United should avoid. A good alternative would be Croatia's Josip Juranovic who will be both cheaper and better suited as a deputy to Diogo Dalot.
Enzo Fernandez on the other hand is a player that United would do well to sign. Erik ten Hag wants a midfielder that can control possession and contribute to every phase to play and the Benfica midfielder could offer just that.
He has shown this in the Champions League with the Portuguese side this season and has continued this form into the World Cup with Argentina. He has registered one goal and one assist so far for the South American side and is one of the competition's breakout stars.
The only issue for United is the price. Benfica are reportedly only willing to listen to offers that meet his buyout clause which is around £100m.
Finally, we get to Gakpo, a player many United fans want to see in January to replace Cristiano Ronaldo. The Dutch forward scored three goals for the Netherlands in the World Cup to add to his impressive tally so far for PSV Eindhoven this season.
What the World Cup showed, however, was that Gakpo struggles when played as a striker and given that is the position that United needs to fill in the January window, this could throw question marks over a move.
Speaking about who he prepares to be partnered with upfront, Memphis Depay told the media: "I have a great click with him (Gakpo) but I think I prefer to play with Steven Bergwijn. He is even more ball-resistant and then Cody can get the ball behind him. But we have many different players with qualities."
In fact for United's purposes, Memphis might be a better player to target. He will be cheaper and he is actually better suited to the number nine role than his 23-year-old teammate.
Overall, the World Cup should not completely inform United's decision-making, but it should add some more context to the players Ten Hag decides to target in January. The club desperately needs a right-back and a forward, but they can't afford to waste money on players who won't fit the style of play the Dutch manager is trying to implement.
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