Jason Wilcox spoke this week about the impact Man United's summer signings have made at the club.
Mbeumo has made a big impact at United
Mbeumo has made a big impact at United
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“The guys have settled in really, really quickly. I think especially when you look at Matheus [Cunha] and Bryan [Mbeumo], they have played in the Premier League and they have lived in England, so there is a quicker transition."
When Jason Wilcox was asked to reflect on Manchester United's summer transfer business, it was no surprise Cunha and Mbeumo were the first two players referenced by the director of football.
The pair have been excellent since their summer moves. It may have taken Saturday's win over Brighton for the duo to really be brought to the attention of pundits and neutrals - Cunha scoring his first goal for the club and Mbeumo bagging a brace - but fans of United and those inside the club have been waxing lyrical over their new recruits for weeks.
Wilcox went on to discuss Senne Lammens and Benjamin Sesko, both summer arrivals from foreign leagues. He praised the pair for settling in "amazingly well", and Lammens' impact in particular cannot be underestimated.
But Cunha and Mbeumo are stealing the headlines, and Wilcox knows it.
While the Ineos model is very much centred on setting United up for the future and looking to end the days of spending "dumb money", in Sir Jim Ratcliffe's words, nobody connected with the club is naive enough to think a club the size of Manchester United can afford to wait for success.
Foundations need to be laid, of course, but United need players capable of hitting the ground running and making an impact the second they walk through the doors at Carrington.
Cunha and Mbeumo have done just that, and Wilcox's reference to the "quicker transition" they have been able to make, having lived in England and played in the Premier League prior to their moves to United, was particularly telling.
Ruben Amorim has spoken on a number of occasions about his focus on buying Premier League proven players during the transfer window, and it's a tactic that is paying dividends, with Cunha and Mbeumo already looking the part at Old Trafford.
That's not to say United will never target players from foreign leagues again, and in Lammens they have a perfect example of a rough diamond who can be plucked from another league for a far more modest fee than had he been showcasing his talents in the Premier League for a number of years.
But the blueprint is clear. United can't afford to wait for success and targeting Premier League proven players is the best way to reduce the risk of them signing more expensive flops.
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