Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag had a number of issues that required his immediate attention this summer, but perhaps the most pressing one of all was finding a way to solve the club's deep-rooted midfield problem.
That area of the pitch was neglected by the Dutchman's permanent predecessor, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who failed to acquire the No.6 that United have sorely needed for some time.
Unsurprisingly, Ten Hag made addressing that issue a priority. And although his ill-judged pursuit of Frenkie de Jong failed to bear fruit, the former Ajax chief made amends by prising Casemiro, one of Europe's elite defensive midfielders, away from Real Madrid.
The arrival of Casemiro was two-pronged; not only would the Brazilian enforcer provide the bite and balance that has been absent from United's engine room, but the 30-year-old would also bring the best out of his international midfield partner, Fred.
Fred has won plenty of plaudits playing with Casemiro for Brazil, with the latter's defensive discipline giving the former Shakhtar Donetsk man license to thrive further up the pitch - something that United icon Paul Scholes believed his former side could replicate.
Speaking after the capture of Casemiro was confirmed last month, Scholes told BT Sport: "He will bring great experience to this midfield. There’s young lads in this team, Scott [McTominay] and Fred, not so young, but I think he’ll help them.
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"Looking at Scott and Fred I always thought they played better further up the pitch, going forward, they can be creative, they’ve actually been asked to play a sitting role and I don’t think either of them are that good at it.
"They’re great at controlling games but I don’t think defensively, Casemiro can allow these players to go and flourish."
Unfortunately, that masterplan failed to come to fruition in Thursday's Europa League match against Real Sociedad. After being slowly integrated into the United ranks, Casemiro was deployed alongside Christian Eriksen in midfield while Fred was nudged into a more advanced role just behind Cristiano Ronaldo.
Casemiro and Eriksen meshed well as a pairing, but Fred, who silenced a number of critics with improved performances last year, floundered ahead of them.
Although Fred's endless energy helped to compensate for Ronaldo's lack of urgency in the press, his use of the ball was poor and he was the main culprit as play consistently broke down in advanced areas.
It's still very early days, but it's already evident that Casemiro's arrival may not have the desired impact on Fred that many had hoped.
And with Scott McTominay impressing Ten Hag in recent weeks and Eriksen thriving in a deeper role, Fred is starting to look like the odd man out rather than one half of Ten Hag's ideal midfield pairing.
