Erik ten Hag might have already had his best Manchester United transfer window

Erik ten Hag might have considered his first Manchester United transfer window as the start of his renewal of the Old Trafford squad, but the noises coming from above him are that this was a one-off, a brief foray into revolution before scaling back to evolution.

United splashed out around £225million this summer, their highest ever spend in one window, and that includes five players who are likely to be in Ten Hag's best XI within the next few weeks.

Lisandro Martinez, Tyrell Malacia, Casemiro, Christian Eriksen and Antony all strengthen the team as well as the squad, but Ten Hag has his eyes on more.

READ MORE: Murtough issues update on January transfer window plans

United are looking for a right-back, a midfielder and a forward next, and they may need a goalkeeper depending on how that situation pans out over the next 12 months.

But as key club bosses yesterday made their first public comments since the transfer window closed on September 1, it was made clear that the kind of investment Ten Hag benefitted from this summer is very unlikely to be repeated.

The message was most starkly laid out by football director John Murtough, who while insisting the club would continue to back Ten Hag by making sure he had "players with the right quality and characters to achieve success", it was also clear it would be done more sustainably under the current ownership.

"We will continue to support Erik in ensuring he has players with the right quality and characters to achieve success while ensuring that investment remains consistent with our commitment to financial sustainability," said Murtough.

"Overall, we are ahead of schedule in our recruitment plans as envisaged at the start of the summer, and we do not anticipate the same