This has been a transfer window in two stages for Manchester United, one that began with a degree of promise, endured a frustrating spell in the middle and is ending with a flourish.
With deals agreed for Tyrell Malacia, Christian Eriksen and Lisandro Martinez by the middle of July, Erik ten Hag's Old Trafford rebuild began encouragingly, but the positivity of pre-season was washed away by poor results and a transfer window that ground to a halt in August.
Malacia, Eriksen and Martinez all fixed specific issues that Ten Hag had identified in his team, but none of them were to be the star name in this window. That role had been earmarked for Frenkie de Jong, but once Martinez's £57million move from Ajax was confirmed, negotiations with Barcelona brought everything else to a halt.
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It took United a long time to move on from the interminable saga involving De Jong, who had been Ten Hag's top target in midfield. They held back a sizeable chunk of their transfer budget in the hope of breaking the deadlock with Barcelona, but that moment never arrived and the dreadful start to the season essentially kyboshed any chances of a deal.
That horror start loosened the purse strings, to a degree. The nature of defeats to Brighton and Brentford made Ten Hag realise a defensive midfielder was essential.
Having gone a month without making a signing as the season began, United's recruitment operation then went into overdrive and, amid a flurry of B-list names, they came out with an A-list signing. The arrival of Casemiro from Real Madrid provides something United have been missing in midfield for a long time.
Antony will now follow, the 22-year-old becoming the second most expensive signing in the club's history. A deal that club sources suggested was almost without a pulse in mid-July due to Ajax's demands has been revived because Ten Hag has been backed to the hilt and beyond.
Malacia, Eriksen, Martinez, Casemiro and Antony is a good window. All five are likely to be in Ten Hag's strongest team and that means half the outfield team have been upgraded, which has to be considered a success.
Malacia was seen as competition for Shaw but is already beginning to win that battle. Eriksen adds some real quality on the ball to the midfield and Casemiro is the world-class defensive midfielder United have needed for a long time.
Martinez will still face tough tests in aerial battles but is up for the fight and, as a left-footed central defender, he doesn't just add balance but is also aggressive as well. Antony also ticks a box for balance as a left-footed attacker and while there has to be a suspicion United have overpaid for him, he has a high ceiling when it comes to potential.
So there has clearly been improvement in the United starting XI, but with two days of the window to go, the one real question remaining concerns where the goals are coming from — an issue that is partially tied to the future of Cristiano Ronaldo.
The 37-year-old scored 24 times last season but is still agitating for a transfer and has been on the bench for the wins against Liverpool and Southampton recently. It doesn't look like Ronaldo is part of Ten Hag's strongest XI at the moment and a departure before Thursday night might well suit all parties.
But without Ronaldo, there is a concern over where the goals come from. Last season Fernandes was the only other player to hit double figures and he only just achieved that.
Anthony Martial looked sharp in pre-season, but since scoring 23 goals in 48 games in 2019/20, he has nine goals in his last 60 club appearances and has had injury problems of late. Marcus Rashford managed successive 20 goals seasons but now has six goals in his last 36 games for United.
Jadon Sancho and Antony aren't prolific either, so without Ronaldo's regular supply, United might need to spread the goals out this season, unless they can find a striker before the deadline in two days.
That might depend on Ronaldo's future and the clock is ticking. It's turned into a good window for United, but they might still have one more issue to solve this week.
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