"The good days are coming," promised Ruben Amorim during his speech on the final day of last season.
Manchester United finished 15th in the Premier League and needed to respond in the summer window. Many thought defeat in the Europa League final would damage the club's prospects in the market.
Thankfully, the window did not unfold like that. Liverpool were the Premier League club to 'win' the summer with their impressive business, but United must be considered among the sides who have conducted fine deals after a productive three months in a difficult market to manoeuvre.
United overhauled their attacking line after scoring a dismal 44 league goals last season, adding Premier League-proven players and a striker, and completed the signing of a goalkeeper.
The only blemish was the failure to sign a new midfielder, which could be a major problem area.
But it's worth focusing on the positives to begin with. Matheus Cunha was the first signing of the summer for £62.5milliion from Wolves, which was a straightforward deal to complete.
United triggered Cunha's release clause at Molineux and personal terms were not a problem. It was the perfect start, but fans began to raise concerns during the pursuit of Bryan Mbeumo.
Brentford are notoriously tricky to negotiate with and hung tough in discussions for Mbeumo. United entered talks by bidding £45m, with £10m in add-ons, and they finally walked away from the table with an agreement to sign Mbeumo for £65m, plus £6m in add-ons, over a month later.
United are not the only club to be stung by the Bees' tough negotiating this summer, as Newcastle signed Yoane Wissa in a £55m deal on the final day of the window after a dogged pursuit of the forward.
Mbeumo was signed in time to travel to the United States for the pre-season tour. He got off the mark against Grimsby and scored his first Premier League goal against Burnley.
Cunha and Mbeumo should be terrific additions. They have already demonstrated their quality in their short time at the club, and supporters are desperately hoping for a positive injury update on Cunha after the Brazilian was forced to be substituted with a muscle injury in the first half against Burnley.
In comparison, Benjamin Sesko has looked rusty, although he does possess the potential to become one of the finest strikers in Europe. Ideally, United would have signed a frontman with experience, but they had to play the cards they were dealt and Sesko was attainable.
United moved with impressive speed to wrap up a deal for Sesko, beating Newcastle to his signature. The Magpies are in the Champions League this season, but Sesko always preferred a move to Old Trafford.
The only slight negative with Sesko is that United needed a striker who could hit the ground running, someone who would make an immediate impact and score goals in the Premier League.
Amorim has not started Sesko in the league since his arrival, preferring Mason Mount down the middle instead.
Speaking after the win over Burnley, Amorim explained his decision not to bring the Slovenia international on earlier against Scott Parker's side.
"So he finished the [Grimsby] game with cramps, really in the limit. That's why we protected Ben from the penalties," explained Amorim.
"And today was that reason also, because (Joshua) Zirkzee is also a striker, he's an international striker. But I was thinking that Ben, during the pre-season, he didn't do 90 minutes.
"And he did that, even against a division four team, he did that on Wednesday. And with the problem of Cunha, you don't know if that full game in the middle of the week has something to do with the injury today.
"With the problem with Mason Mount (injury), I was not risking another player, not knowing if they are able to play so many minutes. So everything was connected. The penalty, the game on Wednesday, and the number of minutes that I was thinking to put Ben today."
In the same press conference, Amorim defended his goalkeeper options, but it was crucial that United pushed in the final days of the transfer to strengthen that department.
Altay Bayindir has made mistakes against Arsenal and Burnley in the Premier League this season. Andre Onana was recalled against Grimsby Town and made an error for their second goal.
United sources consider Senne Lammens to be an exciting young goalkeeper with a bright future. The 23-year-old was called up to Belgium's senior squad in March and has a huge opportunity at United.
It is hoped the £18.2m fee to sign Lammens from Royal Antwerp could prove to be a bargain in a few years. Diego Leon and Enzo Kana Biyik were also exciting young additions for the club's future.
United explored signing a midfielder in the window. Brighton valued Carlos Baleba in excess of £100million and planned to keep him for another season, which killed the hope of adding him to the squad.
The 21-year-old has developed a strong reputation in a short space of time at Brighton, but would Baleba have been an instant success? He is a young midfielder and Brighton's valuation was daunting.
Nonetheless, it is disappointing that United ended the window without strengthening in the centre of the pitch. Casemiro and Manuel Ugarte are poor options and Amorim felt he needed a fresh face.
United will have to make do for the first six months of the season. Midfield could be a problem and United would have overseen a perfect transfer window if they had signed a top player in the ilk of Casemiro.
Ineos chiefs will have to settle for 'an almost perfect' window instead. The members of the 'bomb squad' proved hard to shift, but United eventually got there in the end, with the exception of Tyrell Malacia.
Marcus Rashford joined Barcelona on loan and there is an option to make the move permanent for £26m. Barcelona are covering Rashford's wages, which is estimated to save United around £12m this season.
Alejandro Garnacho was sold to Chelsea for £40m. That felt like a low fee for a player whose value was much higher 12 months ago, but the wider context must be considered
United received £19m, with a potential £2.6m in add-ons, for Antony, while Rasmus Hojlund joined Napoli on loan with a view to it becoming permanent for £38m next summer when certain obligations are met.
Aston Villa will also cover at least 80 per cent of Jadon Sancho's wages during his loan.
United will be pleased with the business they have conducted.