Three Erik ten Hag buys are now among Manchester United's six successful post-Sir Alex Ferguson signings

The sharpest scalpel was held by Gary Neville during the post-mortem of Manchester United's generational nadir at Brentford.

Having had 48 hours to assess the cadaver, Neville presented a traffic light system on Monday Night Football assessing United's recruitment since Sir Alex Ferguson headed upstairs in 2013.

Two players were rated green, seven made amber and 24 were filed under red. Even the two greens, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Bruno Fernandes, had caveats.

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Ibrahimovic suffered such a severe case of second-season syndrome he did not play again after he was hooked at the interval against Burnley on Boxing Day. As of August last year, it was fair to suggest Fernandes had reserved his best form for matches with the turnstiles locked.

The list of 'major signings' comprised of permanent outfield additions, so there was no Lee Grant or Odion Ighalo. The forgettable Guillermo Varela was forgotten.

It is impossible for as ardent a United fan as Neville to compile a list that is entirely objective, even as a pundit. Neville had Harry Maguire and Edinson Cavani under amber when most would have ranked them red and still would.

Juan Mata, Marouane Fellaini and Daley Blind were hard done by, though Neville was never sold on Mata. Luke Shaw was another dubious amber inclusion after one truly good season (2020-21) in eight.

Some United fans may argue two. Shaw was once reminded he received the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year statue for the trophyless 2018-19 - when United finished sixth in the Premier League, won two of their final 12 games and ended it with their worst defensive record in 40 years. Shaw replied: "You could've picked anyone