Sources indicated John Murtough and Richard Arnold were 'inter-railing around Europe' in the summer but the club were spending more money on travel expenses than on midfielders until the late addition of Casemiro from Real Madrid.
Casemiro remains the world's best defensive midfielder but it was supposed to be Frenkie de Jong being paraded at Old Trafford, not the Brazilian. De Jong was Erik ten Hag's priority signing and yet 'settling' for Casemiro has been quite the consolation.
The 30-year-old has been world-class since he swapped Madrid for Manchester and it's no surprise to see him performing as Brazil's best player at the World Cup, despite his nation being stacked with an embarrassment of riches in attack.
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Casemiro has been an outstanding addition and De Jong staying at Barcelona might have been a blessing in disguise. Ten Hag has played a midfield three of Bruno Fernandes, Christian Eriksen and Casemiro and he's installed some overdue balance in the side.
De Jong is a completely different player when compared to Casemiro, but the latter was exactly what United needed, someone who was a specialist in defensive midfield and could protect the backline. There were doubts about whether United would have the required physicality with De Jong, Eriksen and Fernandes in midfield and it always seemed like a dubious three.
Casemiro has played in the position that De Jong would have started in, albeit approaching it entirely differently, but Ten Hag has still managed to get the technician he wanted in the centre of the pitch by moulding Eriksen into that role.
Eriksen has been another wonderful addition. Although he was expected to challenge Fernandes for the No.10 position when he arrived, he's played deeper instead and he's been asked to do the job that De Jong would have at Old Trafford.
Ten Hag used the word 'connector', a similar term he has used to describe De Jong, when discussing that midfield role in pre-season and Eriksen has become that player, becoming the link between defence and attack, orchestrating play.
Eriksen, who was predominantly played as a No.10, has effortlessly adapted to his new role, such is his quality, and he's already an obvious contender for the Reds' Player for the Year award at the halfway point of the season.
The 30-year-old has given Ten Hag what he wanted in midfield without the signing of De Jong and it's interesting to compare the pair's statistics from the Premier League and La Liga this season, to show how well Eriksen is doing.
Eriksen has averaged more long passes, successful long passes and passes to the final third per 90 than De Jong and that's not a bad statistic, considering he was signed on a free transfer and De Jong would have cost €65million (£56.14m) plus add-ons.
De Jong is superior in other areas, like progressing the ball with dribbles, but Eriksen has undoubtedly been a value signing.
Ten Hag was disappointed that United's relentless pursuit of De Jong was in vain, naturally, but he responded by moulding Eriksen into that role and that's a credit to his coaching ability and the player's willingness to learn at a late stage in his career.
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