Ineos have already made their most important sales pitch to players at Manchester United

The noises coming out of Manchester United's football leadership this week have been positive about the prospect of investing in the squad in the summer transfer window.

The club already owes £89million in instalments on players this summer, but after 12 months of cost-cutting measures, there is hope that Ruben Amorim will be given money to spend. It might be more toy chest than war chest, but it should allow Amorim to start putting his stamp on this squad.

It will be vital to build on what has been an encouraging few weeks for Amorim. There are signs that his methods and system are beginning to improve as the current crop of players get used to his approach. Thursday night's performance against Real Sociedad was the best yet in terms of attacking intent under the Portuguese head coach.

Again, Bruno Fernandes was the star of the show. His hat-trick took him to 28 goal contributions in 43 appearances this season, a remarkable return in what has been such a disappointing season for the team he leads. Once again, the question is asked of where United would be without Fernandes, and once again, the answer is unthinkable.

But that is a prospect that United came close to finding out. Strip Fernandes from this team and a relegation battle would look like a real possibility, but as he weighed up his future last summer, just a couple of months from entering his 30s, it could have come to pass.

Fernandes has given the best years of his career to the club and has been rewarded with just a League Cup and an FA Cup. He has been United's outstanding player ever since the day he first walked through the door in January 2020, and he looks destined to win the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award for the fourth time since he signed