Man Utd pulled out of an £85million deal for Mateus Fernandes and took a lot of criticism for doing so, but that stance has been justified.
Manchester United are set to sign Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos for a combined £85million
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Two weeks after deciding against spending £85million on Mateus Fernandes, Manchester United are set to splash out an almost identical sum to sign two midfielders.
United decided that committing all of that fee up-front to West Ham, as well as offering around £250,000-a-week in wages, wasn't the best use of their resources and stepped away from any attempts to sign Fernandes.
Coming hot on the heels of missing out on Elliot Anderson, they copped plenty of criticism for that call, and it felt like their transfer window was in trouble. Their top two midfield targets had gone elsewhere by the end of June.
Those nerves have been settled now. Andrey Santos has signed a five-year deal after joining from Chelsea for £50million, and Youri Tielemans is set to follow with United in advanced talks to sign the Belgium international for £35million.
It certainly feels like United have got the best deal there. Fernandes is a player with plenty of talent, but he is still only 21, has just one cap for Portugal and has been relegated with Southampton and West Ham in successive seasons.
Tottenham have taken a punt on turning that potential into certified star quality, but you don't get the sense that Fernandes is a difference-maker just yet. You could make the same argument over Santos, 22, but he is coming in considerably cheaper.
He struggled to break into the Chelsea side, but that is understandable when Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez are in front of him. He has already earned six caps for Brazil and fits the profile of the player United want, combining high-level technical ability with the strength and power to cover every blade of grass in midfield.
United have basically used the money they've saved by pivoting from Fernandes to Santos to sign Tielemans. The Aston Villa midfielder is 29, but he is a proven performer in the highest level of the Premier League and is a ready-made starter.
He has just captained Belgium at a World Cup, performing brilliantly as the Red Devils reached the quarter-finals, where they were without Tielemans after he pulled out with a minor injury.
While he is older than many of United's other midfield targets, he does replace some of the experience that left the building with Casemiro's departure. He also has experience of playing as a No.6 and a No.8 in the Premier League and looks a high-level partner for Kobbie Mainoo.
Crucially, Tielemans also wanted to move to United after hearing of interest from Old Trafford. He has enjoyed an excellent career to this point, having won the FA Cup with Leicester City and the Europa League with Villa, scoring in both finals, but he lacked a truly elite club on his CV.
A move to United will change that and after watching him take control of the Belgium team this summer, he clearly deserves a chance at the very highest level of the club game. He will bring a lot to the United midfield, and when fit, might prove to be a regular starter next to Mainoo.
It also says a lot about United's transfer business these days that they have moved to sign Santos and Tielemans with little fanfare or build-up. On both occasions, they have struck deals swiftly, and although moves for Anderson and Fernandes proved complicated, this shows they can be decisive when circumstances align.
The patience has been worth it and for £85million they have ended up with a better midfield than just spending that money on Fernandes.