Manchester United supporters would be forgiven for turning off their TV screens and mobile phones when Darwin Nunez is unveiled at Anfield following his blockbuster summer transfer to Liverpool. It was so nearly them celebrating the arrival of a player tipped to go toe-to-toe with Man City's Erling Haaland next season.
Having formed a duopoly in the Premier League scene over the last five or six years, those signings alone are more than enough to detract the chasing pack. However, there is fresh hope and impetus at Old Trafford, also, so missing out on Nunez must be met with that same fresh outlook.
Disappointment tinged with a dose of reality will be tough for United to take in the first instance. But, as it so often does, the transfer market could be about to go full circle this summer and Erik ten Hag can utilise it to his advantage to finally solve one problem position which his United predecessors have been beset with.
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Nunez to Liverpool is virtually a done deal and, while the ink has yet to dry, that comes as Sadio Mane prepares to embrace a new challenge of his own in Germany with Bayern Munich. Each of those deals highlight the continually stunning work done behind the scenes at those two clubs.
A recruitment blueprint for United and others to learn from and put into action themselves this summer. Liverpool were only momentarily rocked by Mane and his desire to leave; they acted quickly and tempted Nunez to sign with a proven project several years in the making and, of course, a place at the top table in Europe.
Failure to qualify for the Champions League will hamper United in the short-term when it comes to deals. But even Frenkie de Jong might be tempted to sacrifice that honour for a season to become part of something exciting - and familiar - with his mentor and former Ajax manager, Ten Hag, in the United dugout.
Similarly to how they have operated for decades, Bayern swooped for Mane due to question marks over their own star striker, Robert Lewandowski, amid heavy-handed interest from Barcelona. Ultimately, that impending trade can - along with Nunez - double up as a green light for United.
Prepared to lose record-breaking Lewandowski this summer, Bayern also face a major decision over Serge Gnabry; someone well-known to the Premier League observer following early-career struggles with Arsenal.
Make no mistake, though, the Germany star is a much more accomplished player these days - as can be highlighted by his numbers for Bayern (64 goals and 40 assists in 171 games) and the national team (20 goals and 6 assists in 33 games). With only 12 months left to run on his deal, there has been alarmingly little development in crunch talks and Bayern could be forced to cash-in on his services despite a want to keep him.
That is where United can step in to ease the pain from Nunez heading not just to anywhere else, but to Anfield. A price tag for Gnabry might as well be plucked from thin air, but while United should stop short of handing over a blank cheque to Bayern now the market has re-opened, figures in the boardroom and Ten Hag cannot ignore what he might offer; a low-risk bargain is there to be had.
Jadon Sancho was signed to address the problematic right-wing for United but, while the player himself is content to play anywhere, some of his best and brightest moments to date back in the UK have come on the opposite side. Had they signed Nunez, Sancho might have predominantly featured on the right. Not so with Gnabry.
Flexibility, not to mention ability, was key with the Liverpool-bound Uruguay forward. He could have, also, doubled up as a central alternative to Cristiano Ronaldo, perhaps with the ultimate aim of replacing the five-time Ballon d'Or winner as and when he calls time on his second act at Old Trafford.
United have had to divert away from initial plans with the window not yet open for 48 hours and flexibility will be just as important when they readdress. So if Gnabry was not on their shopping list already, that business struck-up at Anfield and the Allianz Arena underline him as one for United to seriously consider.
Returning with a point to prove, that alone makes Gnabry a dangerous proposition as Bayern are, too, faced with a challenging decision to make over his future amid competition from Leroy Sane, Kingsley Coman and now Mane. It's the perfect time for United to show they have been noting down transfer lessons from elsewhere.
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