Manchester United snubbed signing all seven of the players reportedly recommended to them by their former scouting team - with four of them joining rivals Man City.
Jim Lawlor joined United in 2006 during the Sir Alex Ferguson regime and was chief scout up until this summer when he made way ahead of Erik ten Hag's arrival. Marcel Bout, who was initially part of Louis van Gaal's coaching staff before he became the global head of scouting in 2016, was also moved on around the same time.
The shake-up was to allow Ten Hag to bring in his own staff, with the Dutchman already hiring the likes of Steve McClaren and Mitchell van der Gaag as assistants and Benni McCarthy as a coach.
Man United have been in the market for new recruits all summer and have so far brought in three players.
The first, left-back Tyrell Malacia, came off the bench for the Red Devils in their Premier League opener against Brighton last weekend with the other two signings, Christian Eriksen and Lisandro Martinez, starting the match.
It was a debut to forget for the trio, and Ten Hag is under pressure to complete more transfers before the window slams shut, with Adrien Rabiot and Frenkie de Jong high up on his wishlist.
According to a report in GQ, United's former scouting team suggested at least seven signings during their time at the club, before they were moved on three months ago.
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The names on the recommendation list reportedly comprised Rodri, Erling Haaland, Jack Grealish, Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham, Kai Havertz and Joao Cancelo, who are all well-known stars.
The Red Devils opted against signing any of the players, with four of them - Rodri, Haaland, Grealish and Cancelo subsequently joining United's bitter rivals Man City, while Kai Havertz moved to Chelsea.
Declan Rice is still at West Ham and remains a United target, although the Red Devils are currently unprepared to pay what West Ham believe the midfielder to be worth.
And finally, Bellingham is reportedly set to join Liverpool next summer after the Reds prioritised signing Darwin Nunez this time.
