Ruben Amorim pictured arriving at Carrington.
Ruben Amorim seemed to have a spring in his step when he arrived at Carrington last week.
Amorim looked healthy - the size of the job weighed on him last season - and smiled as he was photographed, but his mood might be different behind closed doors.
United made the perfect start to the summer when they announced the signing of Matheus Cunha on the opening day of the transfer window. Shortly after that, an opening bid was submitted for Bryan Mbeumo, although Brentford have proved tough to crack in negotiations and Mbeumo remains in London.
Most of the players returned to Carrington for pre-season on Monday morning and the squad is weaker now than it was when Amorim arrived from Sporting Lisbon in November.
Cunha has been added to the squad, but Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford were at Amorim's disposal when he was appointed and they're not part of his plans for the new season.
Antony and Tyrell Malacia were also at Amorim's disposal before leaving on loan to Real Betis and PSV respectively in the January window. Their returns to Carrington have been delayed as they look for new clubs.
United finished 15th in the and, yet, they have a weaker squad in the second week of July than at the end of last season, which must privately concern Amorim.
Amorim will oversee the opening pre-season friendly of the summer against Leeds in Stockholm on July 19 and there should be an opportunity for journalists to briefly speak with him.
Amorim needs more signings in the building. (Image: 2025 Manchester United FC)
spoke to reporters who travelled to Norway for United's opening pre-season friendly last summer and took a few minutes to speak again in the Murrayfield tunnel in Edinburgh.
Those encounters gave journalists the chance to probe Ten Hag on the summer transfer window, which gave updates to supporters. It's hoped the same face time will be afforded with Amorim before the tour of the United States because it will be fascinating to hear his thoughts so far.
The chances are Amorim won't be happy. Cunha should be a tremendous addition, but he needs more fresh blood through the door and the club are dangerously close to letting him down.
After facing Leeds, United will travel to the USA for the Premier League Summer Series and it's imperative at least one signing - hopefully Mbeumo - is included in that travelling squad.
Ideally, two more signings would be on the plane to face West Ham in New Jersey, although fans would probably settle for seeing Mbeumo travel over the Atlantic at this stage.
It has now been more than a month since the opening bid for Mbeumo was submitted. The subsequent bid was rejected and United should walk away from the deal if a third proposal is knocked back.
Having said that, the feeling is that Mbeumo should be a United player by the time of the USA tour. And if that doesn't happen, it will truly be time for the alarm bells to start ringing.
United need to push through a handful of sales to raise funds for further incoming. The futures of Rashford, Garnacho, Antony, Sancho and Malacia must be addressed as a priority because they will unlock funds.
Amorim needs to give his side a major makeover and he's been given a touch of lipstick so far. The new season could get ugly again if new signings aren't given time to work with Amorim in pre-season.