Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag oversaw a record transfer spree at Old Trafford this summer, but the Dutchman could have had plenty more work on his hands were it not for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Ten Hag splashed out more than £231million to bring in six new faces following his arrival from Ajax earlier this year - the most Manchester United have ever spent in a single transfer window.
The new United chief strengthened across the board in a bid to get the club firing again after a calamitous 12-month period. Solskjaer paid the price for a rotten run of results last November and his interim replacement, Ralf Rangnick, failed to inspire a turnaround in form during the second half of the season.
After guiding United to a second-placed finish just months before his departure, there were hopes that Solskjaer could mount a sustained title challenge last term, particularly as the Norwegian was given significant backing in the transfer market.
Jadon Sancho finally arrived at Old Trafford in a £73m deal while Cristiano Ronaldo and Raphael Varane were also signed up in the final weeks of last summer's transfer window.
But Solskjaer also made some big calls in terms of outgoing stars - and Ten Hag has reaped the rewards from some of those decisions since succeeding the former Molde chief.
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Solskjaer decided against offloading five United stars who were tipped for the exit last summer; Donny van de Beek, Diogo Dalot, Anthony Elanga, Anthony Martial and Edinson Cavani. And although that quintet failed to make much of an impression last term, the majority are now firmly in Ten Hag's plans.
Cavani did leave the club following the conclusion of his contract, but Van De Beek, Dalot, Elanga and Martial all appear to have a future at Old Trafford.
The United chief is still in the market for another right-back, but Dalot has leapfrogged Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who has majorly underwhelmed, in the Old Trafford pecking order to establish himself as the club's undisputed first-choice.
There are even suggestions that Dalot is in line for a new contract after impressing Ten Hag - who would have been forced to rely on Wan-Bissaka had Solskjaer not blocked the Portuguese defender's exit last year.
Martial was farmed out on loan by Rangnick back in January, but a dearth of attacking options saw the Frenchman handed a reprieve by Ten Hag. And although injury problems have prevented the former Monaco man from featuring prominently, he impressed enough in pre-season to suggest that Solskjaer was right to resist offloading the striker permanently.
Elanga has continued to progress under Ten Hag after his breakthrough year under Rangnick last term and has now established himself as a legitimate member of the first-team squad.
The same cannot be said, unfortunately, for Van De Beek, who was also given the green light to leave the club on loan by Rangnick back in January.
But Solskjaer's decision to hang onto Van De Beek could still benefit Ten Hag, who quickly identified midfield as an area of the squad in need of improvement. Had Van De Beek been allowed to depart, then the new United chief would have been even lighter on midfield options.
Van De Beek flourished under Ten Hag's guidance during his time at Ajax, where he initially caught the Man United hierarchy's eye.
And there is every chance that the 25-year-old could still force his way back into the first-team frame at Old Trafford in the coming weeks with his old boss at the helm - even if Ten Hag's arrival has failed to spark an instant improvement in the playmaker's fortunes.
