Man United transfer decision shows they are already keeping their options open until deadline day

The ideal transfer window is one planned months in advance and then executed with the minimum of fuss. Players slated to leave do so and the arrivals are boxed off early and efficiently, giving a manager a full squad to go through pre-season with.

The presence of two major tournaments and the Olympics make that a slightly less pressing issue this summer, but those well-run clubs in the Premier League will already have drawn up a best-case window that they will hope to be congratulating themselves on come September.

At Manchester United, they will have an idea in mind of how they want this window to go, but there are so many variables at Old Trafford they could have plans A to Z drawn up and still go off track at some point. It is a summer that is going to test the decision-making and the flexibility of the key hires made by Ineos.

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With just over a week to go until the window opens, there is no clarity on who United's manager will be and no start date for their chosen sporting director. Next month Jean-Claude Blanc, himself an interim solution, will hand over the reins as chief executive to Omar Berrada.

The identity of the manager will guide some of the decisions on recruitment and sales, although Ineos are keen to strip some of the power away from that office. With Ashworth not yet in situ it is technical director Jason Wilcox who will lead the window, with director of football negotiations Matt Hargreaves.

They will need to be nimble throughout the summer, with several key signings prioritised but a budget that simply isn't going