Manchester United were in desperate need of a reset this summer - regardless of who was at the helm.
Erik ten Hag was appointed as the club's new permanent manager earlier this summer after Ralf Rangnick had overseen an uninspiring interim stint steadying the ship for the Dutchman, who guided Ajax to the Eredivisie title in his final act before departing for the Premier League.
Ten Hag's appointment appeared to enthuse Rangnick, who made it clear he would relish the opportunity to give the new United chief a detailed handover before moving upstairs into the two-year consultancy role that had been mooted when he first joined the club.
However, that failed to materialise, with Ten Hag seemingly reluctant to take Rangnick's thoughts on board. The German coach, who took on a new role managing the Austria national team shortly before his brief Old Trafford tenure came to an end, had earlier claimed that United were in need of "open-heart surgery" and urged the club to make up to 10 signings this summer - even highlighting some top European prospects for them to pursue.
But Ten Hag had other ideas. The former Ajax boss quickly identified Barcelona playmaker Frenkie de Jong as his top summer transfer target, with the United hierarchy ready to splash out a substantial sum on the Dutchman, who had been earmarked to transform United's midfield.
But United's pursuit of De Jong stalled. Despite Ten Hag's desire to strike a deal, De Jong was not enthused about the prospect of leaving the Nou Camp, nor was he particularly enticed by the prospect of playing Europa League football.
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Meanwhile, Ten Hag was enduring a pretty brutal introduction to life in the Premier League. United slumped to a surprise opening defeat at the hands of Brighton before they were on the hands of a chastening 4-0 drubbing against Brentford the following weekend.
That forced a change of tact from United in the transfer market. At that point, the club had completed three deals; Tyrell Malacia, Christian Eriksen and Lisandro Martinez had been signed up by Ten Hag, but it was clear that United needed to recruit more extensively than previously planned.
United have since gone on to shatter their previous record spend in a single transfer window with deals for Casemiro, Antony and Martin Dubravka. United's estimated spend of £225.4m is considerably more than their previous highest outlay, which stood at £149.5m back in 2014.
Although United chose to ignore specific transfer recommendations from Rangnick, who had urged them to pursue deals for Manchester City's new strike duo Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez amongst others, the club have ended up heeding his prior warning by overhauling a squad in decline.
Rangnick's stint in the Old Trafford hot seat may have left people underwhelmed, but it is clear that the German was spot on with his damning diagnosis of the club.
The club needed to hear Rangnick's stinging verdict, but more importantly, they needed to act on it. Their work in the transfer market is a start - even if it did seem as though they were set on ignoring his recommendations.
