Declan Rice to Arsenal shows Manchester United transfer advantage lost despite £50m gain

There was a time when Manchester United would have made it their business to make sure the best young domestic talents in the Premier League came to Old Trafford.

Declan Rice is a player that has long been admired at the club, but when the time finally came to depart West Ham this summer, United were never seriously in the running for the 24-year-old's signature. They will be happy with the £55million deal to sign Rice's best mate, Mason Mount, who looks a better fit for Erik ten Hag's system and came in £50m cheaper.

But it does feel Rice's move to Arsenal is a sign of the changing times within English football. Whereas once United could blow their rivals out of the water, now they are competing as equals, at the very least.

United might still be a revenue-generating machine, but all of the Premier League's big six are raking it in now, such is the dominance of the league and the stunning television deals. Then there is the spectre of Financial Fair Play hanging over clubs.

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The irony of United being the Manchester club punished for breaching FFP regulations this summer wasn't lost on those of a blue persuasion on Friday, but more alarming at Old Trafford is what those regulations hold in the future, rather than the past. This was a €300,000 fine for a minor technical breach, but it shows that UEFA will take a strong stance against clubs falling foul of the system.

It was also the last round of punishments for the current rules. UEFA have beefed up their FFP rules, which United insists is a constraint on the business they can in this window and requires 'discipline in investment'. It's why they have haggled so hard over Mount and Andre