Manchester United's summer transfer window was certainly an eventful one.
In the space of four months, the Red Devils added Donny van de Beek, Alex Telles, Edinson Cavani and Facundo Pellistri to their squad.
The signing of Ivorian winger Amad Diallo from Atalanta was also confirmed on deadline day and the 18-year-old will officially join the club in January.
On paper, it looks like a pretty decent summer for United, but the confirmed arrivals tell only half the story.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side failed to bring in a quality centre-back and their doomed pursuit of Jadon Sancho once again highlighted the negligent leadership from those at the very top.
The English winger was the United manager's number one target, but Ed Woodward and the rest of the hierarchy baulked at Borussia Dortmund's £108m valuation of the player.
In these difficult financial times, Woodward's refusal to pay a nine-figure sum is understandable - to a degree. However, this isn't the first time he has failed to secure a key signing for Solskjaer.
Back in January, the United boss was convinced he had agreed a €20m deal to sign fellow countryman Erling Haaland from RB Salzburg, but the proposed transfer was then bizarrely rejected by Woodward.
As reported by ESPN, United's executive vice-chairman opted against bringing the Norwegian starlet to Old Trafford because of agent fees and the fact the player's camp insisted a release clause be inserted into his contract.
Dortmund then swooped in and signed the player for €20m, inserting the desired €75m release clause into the deal - the clause cannot be exercised until 2022.
The German club's decision to abide by the wishes of Haaland's camp has paid dividends, the Norwegian scoring a hat-trick on his debut for the club.
In his first 23 games for Dortmund in all competitions, the Leeds-born striker has scored 21 goals and is already revered as one of the best players in the world.
Just think, Haaland could have been recording those kind of numbers in a United shirt for the bargain price of €20m had Solskjaer got his way...
