Under obligation, the Red Devils will have to sign yes or yes in the summer

Though nothing can be ruled out on transfer deadline day, it is highly unlikely that Manchester United club photographer Ash Donelon will be photographing any new arrivals at Carrington on Thursday. United, whose main focus on deadline day will be returning from Molineux with three points, are not expected to add to their squad before the bell sounds at 11pm. Talk of a striker coming in did the rounds, but manager Erik ten Hag put a lid on any hopes supporters might have had last week.

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Instead, following Sir Jim Ratcliffe's arrival on the scene, United will have to wait until the summer before they can officially open a new chapter. The summer of 2024 could turn out to be one of the biggest at Old Trafford in years. Though INEOS' minority investment is yet to be officially ratified by the Premier League, Ratcliffe, of course, has wasted no time in putting building blocks in place, appointing Omar Berrada as the club's new chief executive. One of Berrada's main objectives will be to correct the mistakes of yesteryear.

If United are to be considered as a genuine title challenger again, several areas of the squad will need upgrading, both in the short-term and the long-term. It will be impossible for United to make all of the necessary adjustments in one window. One of INEOS' main tasks in the short-term should be restructuring the landscape of United's pool of centre-backs. The pecking order, though injuries have played a key role, does not currently have the look to it that was expected at the start of the season.

Martinez, who has, in the eyes of many, been the best signing of the Ten Hag era thus far, offers United everything you could wish for in a centre-back, not least his ball-playing credentials. It is thought Ten Hag would like to add a similar skill set to the right-sided centre-back berth. But with Varane and Evans out-of-contract in the summer, the prospect of them both leaving, before even judging the futures of Maguire and Lindelof, means three senior centre-backs would not be enough to survive the entire season. Granted, Willy Kambwala has recently stepped up to first-team duties, but there are no guarantees he will do enough to stay there.

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The restructuring of United

Should either Maguire or Lindelof be sold, in addition to both Varane and Evans potentially departing, INEOS may have to supply Ten Hag with two new centre-backs, not one. It would require signing a ready-made operator to slot straight into Ten Hag's first XI and another to offer back-up and rotation, competing with either Maguire or Lindelof for third in the pecking order. Finances, as well as other transfer objectives, will, of course, dictate what United can and cannot do in the summer, but a gradual rebuild at centre-back is needed. Varane has regressed, struggling to maintain his fitness, and Evans will turn 37 in just under a year's time, meaning it is hard to argue that both players still have long-term futures in M16.