Erik ten Hag wants to implement higher standards at Manchester United and he is wasting no time in proving that he really does mean business.
Frenkie de Jong looked like he would be the first new arrival at Old Trafford this summer, but instead he might be pipped to the post by compatriot Tyrell Malacia after United quickly agreed a fee with Feyenoord for his services earlier this week.
United sources remained confident about their plans in the transfer window over the past few weeks, responding to fans' concerns about a lack of early activity with an insistence that negotiations can soon gather pace, and that is exactly what has happened this week.
READ MORE: What Erik ten Hag has said about Tyrell Malacia, Frenkie de Jong and United targets
It also shows just how ruthless Ten Hag really is. Signing a new left-back was not viewed as an essential piece of business this summer, and Malacia will likely occupy the back-up role for the majority of his debut season at the club.
However, it is a move that symbolises the new expectations at Old Trafford, with United's new manager keen to rid his squad of any passengers and implement a fierce competition for places.
It is no coincidence that Luke Shaw played the best football of his senior career when he was spurred on by the genuine threat, albeit a brief one, posed by Alex Telles' arrival.
Telles gave Shaw the proverbial kick up the backside required to realise his place was no longer certain in the United starting line-up, and it perhaps also indicates why his standards slipped when Telles' form dropped off in his second season.
Shaw is expected to start the season as United's first-choice left-back once again, and there is a hope that the 26-year-old could once again be invigorated by his survival instincts amid a fresh threat to his role.
The decision to strengthen a position which did not seem to be a priority should also be viewed as a warning to many of the other underperforming players in the United squad and evidence that Ten Hag is not afraid to replace anyone who isn't in his long-term vision for the club.
United have also agreed a deal in principle to sign De Jong from Barcelona and will now move onto other targets, with Christian Eriksen and Ajax duo Antony and Lisandro Martinez also coveted by the new manager.
Those three targets would address long-term concerns with the United squad, but so too would they add competition for places in areas of the pitch where there are a number of fringe players yet to secure themselves a starting role.
It is exciting to see Ten Hag backed in the transfer window with funds to sign whoever he wants, but his success next season will also rely on getting more out of those who are already at his disposal as well.
A move for Malacia looks like it could do both.
READ NEXT:
