Manchester United have spent the summer changing the make-up of Michael Carrick’s squad.
However, some of their most intriguing business has come at the expense of their two fiercest rivals.
United rebuilt the senior midfield with Carlos Baleba, Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans, while Karl Darlow arrived to provide experienced competition in goal.
Yet recruitment has not stopped with Carrick’s immediate options.
The rivalry with Liverpool needs little explanation.
United’s last meeting with Arne Slot’s side ended in a dramatic 3-2 victory at Old Trafford in May, when Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko established an early two-goal lead before Liverpool fought back through Dominik Szoboszlai and Cody Gakpo.
Kobbie Mainoo then fired home the winner from the edge of the area, securing Champions League qualification and completing United’s first league double over Liverpool since 2015/16.
There has been similar joy against Manchester City.
Michael Carrick’s first game after returning to the dugout in January ended with a dominant 2-0 Manchester derby victory, as Bryan Mbeumo and Patrick Dorgu scored second-half goals. United also had three efforts disallowed and restricted City to only one shot on target.
Now United are set to take three players directly from those two rivals.
Manchester United set to confirm three signings
The Manchester Evening News report that United are set to complete the signing of 16-year-old Isaac Konde from Liverpool, while David Eze and Karim Cassim are arriving from Manchester City.
Konde has chosen to leave Liverpool and is expected to join Darren Fletcher’s Under-18 squad once the remaining formalities are completed.
Eze is a defensive midfielder born in Dublin who has represented England at youth level.
He was highly regarded inside City’s academy, making United’s ability to convince him across Manchester particularly noteworthy.
Cassim is another 16-year-old midfielder.
His move had effectively been exposed earlier when he was spotted on the United bench during an Under-18 fixture against Charlton.
Premier League ratification has already been completed for Eze, while Cassim’s paperwork was submitted around the same period and is expected to be approved.
For United, it is another sign that the club’s youth strategy remains aggressive: taking three promising players from Liverpool and City is about strengthening Carrington while weakening two rival pathways at the same time.