Marcel Sabitzer is making Manchester United's summer transfer planning easier

The season still has a ways to go but battle plans will already be being drawn up ahead of the summer transfer window.

Manchester United have progressed much more than anyone could have reasonably expected under Erik ten Hag. Less than a year ago they were drearily trudging towards their worst-ever Premier League finish and the optimism around Old Trafford was at an all-time low.

But now the trophy drought has already ended, two more could still be won, providing there is no collapse of epic proportion they should still finish in the top four, several players have regained their confidence and positivity is back on the pitch and in the stands. All that in less than 12 months is remarkable.

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But there's plenty more hard work to do. United are 19 points off leaders Arsenal and that is a lot of ground to make up to launch a genuine title challenge. The Champions League will be a much tougher competition, even if United's Europa League run has been far from easy.

To raise their game and advance the rebuild further, more shrewd and expensive signings will be needed. Ten Hag has proven a successful operator in the market with Casemiro, Lisandro Martinez and Christian Eriksen being the driving force to the club's turnaround while Antony and Tyrell Malacia have provided crucial contributions.

January's two loan arrivals, Wout Weghorst and Marcel Sabitzer, have also provided a boost and bolstered the manager's ranks when the squad had taken hits.

It magnifies how poorly United have recruited over the last decade that they have spent such an obscene amount of money but yet the squad Ten Hag is working with is still light on options and when key players get injured the drop off is