Man Utd had to sign a player on loan from Fiorentina on deadline day because they were so short of money and Erik ten Hag's budget is unlikely to change any time soon.
In New York this summer Erik ten Hag had his chance to speak directly to the Glazer family. The presence of Manchester United in the US for a pre-season tour was a "good opportunity to share ideas and talk informally", Ten Hag said, adding he would give "advice and recommendations" on the takeover.
So it has proved. Sheikh Jassim's decision to withdraw from the process might actually help the Glazers, who now don't have to explain why they have decided their 18-year rule at Old Trafford should continue, that they are the right custodians for this football club. Long-term, however, the fact the Glazers' fingerprints will remain all over this football club means the challenge of returning to the glory days has just got considerably more difficult. Nothing they have done in their disastrous tenure as owners suggests they have the ambition or the enthusiasm to make United the gold standard on or off the pitch.
But that is what United don't have and that will keep holding them back. Back in New York, Ten Hag exchanged a swift handshake with Avram Glazer at the club's New Jersey training base. There may have been deeper discussions in private and it would be a surprise if Ten Hag was urging the dysfunctional American family to keep hold of the club.
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