When the transfer window opened a little over a month ago Manchester United made it clear their priority this summer was strengthening in midfield and attack, something Erik ten Hag has since reiterated on the club's pre-season tour.
It was expected that United would focus on those positions first, before seeing how much was left in the kitty to focus on other areas, but as so often happens with plans in transfer windows, it hasn't worked out that way.
Frenkie de Jong is Ten Hag's top target in midfield but that deal with Barcelona is continuing to drag on and the end doesn't look to be in sight just yet, particularly after the Dutchman was included in the Catalan club's US tour squad on Saturday. United were also frustrated with their attempts to negotiate with Ajax for Antony and that deal looks unlikely to happen now.
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It will naturally be frustrating to Ten Hag that he is now three weeks into pre-season training and the club still haven't signed players in the two key areas prioritised at the start of the window. The deal for De Jong must happen, given how long United have spent on it, but the longer it goes on the less time he has to acclimatise before the real action begins on August 7.
With United now around halfway through their pre-season tour they are committed to ending their time in Bangkok, Melbourne and Perth with the only new face on board. Tyrell Malacia was the first player signed this summer and the £12.9million left-back has played the second half of games against Liverpool and Melbourne Victory.
In both of those games, there has been a noticeable drop-off after 10 outfield changes were made at the break and Malacia hasn't yet done anything to suggest he can push his way ahead of Luke Shaw into that first XI.
That deal for Malacia was accelerated because the 22-year-old was on the brink of joining Lyon and if the window has been a waiting game so far, it has at least shown a degree of flexibility from United and football director John Murtough.
The days when they focused on one deal at a time are over, which is for the best, given talks over De Jong with Barcelona are now into the 10th week. United were forced into action over Malacia and the same has happened with Lisandro Martinez, who is now in Manchester to finalise his £46million move from Ajax.
It had been expected a move for a central defender might only happen once one or two had left the club, but Arsenal wanted Martinez and that forced United to show their hand. The attraction of working with Ten Hag again was key for the Argentine and once United approached Ajax he was only ending up at one club.
It does mean United now have seven senior central defenders on the books and at least two of Eric Bailly, Phil Jones and Axel Tuanzebe will surely depart. The hand is weakened when it comes to sales now, but the priority this summer always had to be on spending to strengthen.
United have done that so far. Malacia is a low-risk signing and the club will hope to recoup some of that cash by selling Alex Telles. At £46m Martinez isn't going to break the bank and it means United now have a much stronger and more balanced selection of defenders.
A few weeks ago United hoped to have completed five signings by the end of the tour. They are up to three but another couple looks unlikely. The final two deals might well judge whether this window has been a success or not.
A midfielder (De Jong) and a forward were the top priorities two months ago and they remain the top priorities. United have done well to strengthen while working around those positions, but the pressure is still on to give Ten Hag what he really wants in this window.
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