“We must get recruitment right; it is such a vital part of football today," said Sir Jim Ratcliffe in an interview about becoming co-owner at Manchester United earlier this year.
“I would rather sign the next Kylian Mbappe rather than spend a fortune buying success," Ratcliffe added. "It’s not that clever buying Mbappe. Anyone could figure that one out. What's more challenging is to find the next Mbappe or next Jude Bellingham or next Roy Keane.”
Ratcliffe provided fascinating insight into how he envisaged running football operations and United might have signed a few unpolished diamonds in this summer transfer window.
Beyond the first-team recruitment of Joshua Zirkzee, Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraou and Manuel Ugarte, they have signed Sekou Kone (18 years old) and Chido Obi-Martin (16 years old), offering a glimpse into what future windows with Ineos could look like.
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All seven of those signings are from different corners of the world, but something unites them all: they all have their best years ahead of them.
United have an unwanted reputation for signing players past their best and although it will take time to shift perception, positive strides were made in the summer window.
The first signing through the door was Joshua Zirkzee. Rasmus Hojlund almost single-handedly shouldered the burden of scoring United's goals last season and signing a forward was a priority, which saw talks open with Bologna over the possibility of signing Zirkzee.
The former Bayern Munich youngster had a €40million release clause in his Bologna contract, but United agreed to pay an extra €2.5m so they can stagger the payments over three years.
The release clause would have been paid in one lump sum and Zirkzee made a good start to vindicating his £36.5m (€42.5m) price tag when scoring on his debut against Fulham.
Zirkzee became the sixth Dutchman to score on his Old Trafford debut for United after Jordi Cruyff, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Robin van Persie, Alexander Buttner and Donny van de Beek.
The goal extended United's opening day record in the Premier League - they have won more opening games than any other team - and provided Zirkzee with 'relief'.
"I mean yeah, first game, first goal, it’s always a relief to have that off your shoulders, but it goes on," he explained. "I saw the replay of my goal and it didn’t look too bad."
The second signing through the door was Leny Yoro, who was signed from Lille for €62m plus €8m in add-ons. The club’s scouts, new football structure and Erik ten Hag agreed that Yoro would be an excellent addition and multiple meetings were held with the player to convince him to sign.
“Leny is one of the most exciting young defenders in world football; he possesses every attribute needed to develop into a top-class centre-back," sporting director Dan Ashworth said.
"Having had such an excellent start to his career we are excited to support him in reaching his immense potential here at Manchester United.
“This club has a fantastic record of developing young players, whether homegrown or brought in from elsewhere, and giving them the required guidance, time and patience to grow and flourish."
There were glimpses of Yoro's quality in his first appearance of pre-season against Rangers, but disaster struck in the first game of the USA tour when he fractured his metatarsal.
Although Yoro's injury has been considered a huge blow, club sources are viewing his lay-off as an opportunity for him to settle into life in Manchester and familiarise himself with his new surroundings, an approach Sir Alex Ferguson would take with new signings who picked up injuries.
The 18-year-old, who was standing on crutches when he was unveiled to the Old Trafford crowd, had surgery to address the problem and he is expected to return to action in November.
United fans are looking forward to Yoro's return, however, they didn't have to wait long to see Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui in the flesh after their moves from Bayern Munich.
United signed De Ligt for €45m (£38.4m) with a potential further €5m (£4.2m) in add-ons and Mazraoui was been brought in for a €15m (£12.8m) fee with a possible €5m (£4.2m) in add-ons. The latter started against Fulham on the opening day and De Ligt came on from the bench.
United's newly appointed CEO Omar Berrada, sporting director Ashworth and Ten Hag were in agreement that De Ligt and Mazraoui would be strong additions and that was key to both deals, with the pair arriving from Germany for an initial combined fee of €60m.
Club sources believe the signings of the Bayern duo have been completed for fair market value and have reiterated United have had to maintain budget discipline this summer.
United have attempted to be disciplined in negotiations this summer to get the best possible deals and that approach finally paid off with a breakthrough to sign Ugarte.
It was always the plan to strengthen Ten Hag's midfield options this summer and Ugarte was signed for €50million (£42.3m), with a further €10m (£8.5m) in add-ons, on deadline day.
United were reluctant to match PSG's asking price of a €60m (£50.6m) fixed fee and they believe the deal showed their patient approach to the negotiations worked.
Ugarte, who joined PSG from Sporting Lisbon in 2023, will compete with Casemiro to start at the base of United's midfield but won't be available for selection this weekend.
The 23-year-old needed to be registered with the Premier League by 12pm on Friday and the deadline was missed, so he will not be available to face Liverpool at Old Trafford.
On the back of Ugarte's move being confirmed, a club source said they have signed five players with a blend of youth and experience but all with their best years ahead of them - that phrase was used again - and feel they have significantly strengthened the squad this summer.
Away from the first-team recruitment drive, the signing of Sekou Kone was confirmed on Friday and United believe the youngster has potential to join the senior group.
United have paid just over £1m for Kone, who they first scouted in November at the Under-17 World Cup in Indonesia as his country Mali beat Argentina to claim a third-place finish.
Kone is considered a player with high potential by United and although he will initially join up with the academy, he'll spend time training with the first team at Carrington, which means he could be fast-tracked if he demonstrates he can operate at the level required.
The midfielder could be the 'next Mbappe' that Ratcliffe discussed and Obi-Martin, who is a prolific youth striker who has signed from Arsenal, has similar potential.
Obi-Martin's transfer needs to receive clearance but that is not expected to be a problem. United's head of the academy, Nick Cox, and the head of academy recruitment, Luke Fedorenko, were responsible for the deal and the move has been seen as a significant coup.
United fans will be impressed with the incomings this summer and strong headway has been made to offload unwanted players, with multiple players being sold on permanent deals.
Donny van de Beek, Mason Greenwood, Willy Kambwala, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Facundo Pellistri, Will Fish, Scott McTominay, Hannibal Mejbri and Jadon Sancho were sold for fees (as long as the latter's move to Chelsea on a season-long loan with an obligation to buy is completed).
United were proactive in the selling market and for the first time, they included high sell-on fees and buy-back options in the bulk of their sales. Although including favourable clauses seems like common sense, they had been absent at Old Trafford until this summer window.
Including sell-on fees in deals for the likes of Greenwood, Kambwala, Pellistri, Fish and Hannibal means United can receive money on the back of their future success.
That is incredibly helpful in the era of Profit and Sustainability rules (PSR) and it should give United some breathing space in future windows.
McTominay's sale was key in this window because the sale of an academy graduate represents 'total profit' in the books. United received a fixed fee of €30.5million (£25.7m) for McTominay and inserted a 10 per cent sell-on clause into the deal for the midfielder, but Ten Hag admitted at his press conference on Friday that he had mixed feelings at his departure.
"It’s a little bit mixed," Ten Hag said. "I’m very happy for him, it’s also for us mixed because I wouldn’t prefer to lose him because he is Man United in every way.
"He was so important for our team, he was at Manchester United for over 22 years. But unfortunately, it’s the rules. You have to discuss the rules to do sells and obviously homegrown players, academy players, bring more value.
"It’s not the right thing to do but for everyone, for all parts, it’s a good deal. For Scott, he is happy with it. Of course, for Napoli, a very good player but also for us."
Ten Hag told Manchester-based reporters after the second pre-season friendly of the summer that he wanted to keep McTominay, who scored 10 goals last season, but Napoli's offer was too good for the club to reject and he was welcomed in Naples by hundreds of fans.
United have essentially swapped McTominay for Ugarte and that is an upgrade. They have upgraded their entire squad this summer and will be happy with their business.
They will be even happier if the 'next Mbappe' has been signed in this window.
