More hits than misses - Manchester United know what they need to complete squad rebuild

Manchester United's transfer window eventually ended with the fewest number of senior signings in a summer under Erik ten Hag.

Quality always has to be prioritised over quantity and United reinforced four areas of the squad that needed upgrades. Four were defensive-minded additions after Ten Hag had to cope with a depleted defence for much of last season.

Those foundations can be built on next year when United will need two midfielders and a forward. They are on course to rebuild their squad within the three transfer windows Sir Jim Ratcliffe predicted.

Ratcliffe did not expect United to solve all of their "problems" this summer. It could not be a perfect window but it has been a positive one.

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Disciplined spending

This correspondent predicted at the start of the summer United would not break the £60million barrier for a single signing and they didn't. Leny Yoro's final fee, including add-ons, came in at £58.91m.

Last year, United committed to a £72m investment in Rasmus Hojlund, having vowed not to pay more than £60m for him. The year before that, Antony commanded a €100m fee.

New chief executive Omar Berrada helped pioneer Manchester City's strategy of seldom spending more than £60m on a player and that has happened on only four occasions. United sources have stressed how conscious the club was of maintaining financial discipline and maintaining compliance with the profitability and sustainability and financial fair play rules during negotiations.

Successful sales

This has been United's best window in the seller's market for 17 years. Nine