The point at which Manchester United knew they were making progress in the summer transfer window -- the club's first under the new leadership team put together by Sir Jim Ratcliffe -- came in mid-July. With Matt Hargreaves, director of football negotiations, locked in complicated talks with Marseille over a deal for Mason Greenwood, United were also pushing ahead with an agreement to bring in Leny Yoro, the highly rated young French defender, from Lille.
In previous years, according to club sources, United would have focused on reaching one agreement before beginning work on another.