Erik ten Hag has fixed three Manchester United problems in the transfer market

Watching Manchester United under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick, the problems often looked obvious, but the solutions less so.

For too long this has been a team lacking balance and cohesion, without the coaches to put a sticking plaster over those defects.

The most obvious fixes always lay in the transfer market but United made the wrong moves and prioritised the wrong positions.

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But under Erik ten Hag they now have a coach capable of finding answers to problems on the training ground and during games. Perhaps as importantly, the former Ajax manager quickly diagnosed what this team was missing and used his first transfer window to correct some of those problems.

It's not a great reflection on United's transfer strategy of recent years that they have the world's most expensive centre-back on the bench, but it's also indisputable that having a left-footer in the centre of defence has improved this team.

Lisandro Martinez doesn't just add aggression to United's defending, but he opens up the pitch when it comes to their attempts to play out from the back. There are now more options open to the defenders when trying to pick a pass as a result of that balance and the Argentine has proved himself adept at firing quick passes into the midfield, often breaking the opposition press as a result.

Martinez and Raphael Varane have improved United's defence immeasurably, both in and out of possession. Where that leaves Harry Maguire is a question for another day, given the positivity and momentum being built up, but it's clear United have needed this balance for some time.

It was in July 2020, during the final days of that Covid-disrupted