Manchester United are convinced they can mount a genuine challenge for major trophies this season, even though their summer spending pales in comparison to several Premier League rivals who have splashed out considerably more.
United invested £148m on new recruits over the summer, a figure dwarfed by promoted Ipswich Town, Tottenham and Chelsea's outlays of more than £300m each, and Manchester City's staggering £458m spree. The gulf in resources was underlined on Friday night when Liverpool, in their win at Ipswich, started three players — Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and Bradley Barcola — who each cost in excess of £100m individually.
United's headline arrival, Cameroon international Carlos Baleba from Brighton, could eventually cost around £70m, a sum still short of the £89m United paid Juventus for Paul Pogba a decade ago, which remains the club's transfer record.
Head coach Michael Carrick, however, is adamant that outspending the competition is not a prerequisite for success.