Joel Glazer's Man Utd transfer promise he must deliver on for Erik ten Hag

Joel Glazer is often accused of staying silent when Manchester United fans want clarity from either him or his brother Avram.

Therefore, his comments from this time last year make for interesting reading with the added context of Erik ten Hag's arrival as Red Devils manager. After the club had announced the earth-shattering signing of Cristiano Ronaldo, Glazer issued a rallying message claiming there was still work to be done to restore United to their former glories.

Speaking to supporters at a United fans' forum held at Old Trafford, the American businessman tuned in via video link to say that "the most important thing is always on-the-pitch success", before revealing "We're very happy with the summer."

He went on to insist that there would be further additions made in the future to ensure United get themselves on an upwards trajectory. "We can always improve," he said. "There's always more work to be done."

It was exactly what the Old Trafford faithful wanted to hear. The fanbase has so often felt disillusioned with the current ownership and while those wounds are by no means healed, hearing that the club wanted to add investment to an already expensively-assembled squad was a huge boost.

Fast forward 12 months and Ronaldo remains United's most recent signing, the January window passing former interim boss Ralf Rangnick by without any additions despite the fact his desire to add a new striker to the mix was well-documented.

The German went public with the fact that he was told by those above him in the United hierarchy that there was "no one" available to sign at the turn of the calendar year. It was a clear undermining of Glazer's comments back in September.

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Ten Hag cannot let the same messages be relayed back to him, the Dutchman's chances of succeeding at the helm will be drastically harmed if he too is told that the targets he identifies are unavailable.

The former Ajax boss has already established a few players he has in his sights, with the bulk of them being talent he already worked with at some point back in Amsterdam.

Current Ajax centre-back Jurrien Timber is one of the club's main targets, but ex-Ajax star and current FC Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong remains the priority. The La Liga titans are rumoured to be holding out for a mammoth figure of £80million to part ways with the Dutch international.

Though the summer transfer window is still young, United are one of the only 'big six' sides to have not purchased anyone since the window officially opened earlier this month. Ten Hag will be desperate to change that sooner rather than later.