Manchester United fans are rightfully frustrated with the (lack of) transfer recruitment this summer, but there has been one silver lining in the current market.
While there is clear need for further reinforcement to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's first-team following their dire opening day defeat to Crystal Palace there is at least the positive of youth development.
United's U18 side began their new season with a superb win over Blackburn on Saturday as summer signing Joe Hugill netted an excellent brace on his debut.
However, perhaps the biggest positive for United was the involvement of three of their young players later in the day as the United loan system began to reap the rewards.
United have been eager to revamp their process of loaning players away from the club this season with the focus on gaining meaningful minutes at a club catered to each player's style of play, rather than necessarily winning every week. Which is all well and good, as none of them tasted victory over the weekend.
Highly-rated goalkeeper Matej Kovar played the entirety of Swindon Town's 2-0 defeat to Blackpool in League One, while James Garner made his Watford debut with an 18-minute cameo from the bench in their goalless draw with Sheffield Wednesday.
Tahith Chong got another hour of top-flight football under his belt in Werder Bremen's 4-1 defeat against Hertha Berlin, but the main takeaway is that United players are learning the valuable lessons away from the safety of reserve level football.
Dylan Levitt was an unused substitute for Charlton Athletic against Doncaster, while Aliou Traore was not in the SM Caen side for their Ligue 2 match.
