Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has detailed how Man Utd operate a "systematic" transfer strategy when identifying players, but admits to sometimes making his own requests.
United have overhauled their recruitment process this season from a policy which club legend Gary Neville described as 'like Football Manager' .
Harry Maguire, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Daniel James and Bruno Fernandes have all arrived at the club on permanent deals, as well as loan signing Odion Ighalo.
Gone seem to be the days of United throwing money at Galactico-type signings off the cuff, with Solskjaer revealing the club now take a more thoughtful approach.
"Player signings are very systematic," Solskjaer told Norwegian outlet TV2 . "It takes many hours, and there are many people and many hours of player analysis that underlie a list that is presented to me.
"And then I follow football myself, so I have wishes myself.
"But I have an impression on what kind of football player I want and what kind of person I want to join the club."
The overhaul came after a number of high-profile flops, most notably Alexis Sanchez, who is still picking up a princely sum in wages whilst on loan at Inter.
United's strategy placed an increased focus on signing young, hungry players in the summer, with Maguire and Wan-Bissaka now integral to the Red Devils' defence.
James has been in and out of the side in recent weeks, but is still developing under Solskjaer, while despite a significant financial outlay on Fernandes, the Portuguese midfielder is already proving to be a hit at Old Trafford.
United's pursuit of Birmingham youngster Jude Bellingham also shows evidence of a change in tack.
The only signing which came out of the blue was the acquisition of Ighalo on deadline day.
Aut Solskjaer conceded that for all the planning, sometimes the club have had to make snap decisions.
"We have been working for a long time already to analyse our team and what we can get in the market," he added.
"We are trying to work out a couple of transfer windows ahead. We can't just react in May with 'now we have to do something'.
"But then, all of a sudden, players can get available to sign, so you still have to be aware that something can happen quickly."
