Erik ten Hag has all the transfer targets he wanted - now Man Utd must challenge for Premier League title and go deep in Champions League

The most obvious area where United needed to strengthen was up front. Despite finishing third in the Premier League last season, United scored only 58 goals, as many as ninth-placed Brentford and fewer than every other side who finished in the top six.

In countless games they created all types of chances, but were crying out for someone to bury the ball in the net, particularly in the narrow defeats to West Ham and Brighton in May. For the latter half of the season, their only options at centre-forward were Anthony Martial and Wout Weghorst.

The former missed 31 matches through injury and during the whole season never managed to play 90 minutes. The latter ended the campaign with zero Premier League goals in 17 appearances.

But signing Rasmus Hojlund should make United much more threatening up front. The Danish striker might still be raw and unproven, with just one season in one of Europe’s top five leagues under his belt, but he has huge potential.

He struck nine goals in Serie A for Atalanta, and while that might not sound like a lot for a £70m player, he only started 20 matches. And he has been in prolific form for Denmark, scoring six times in four matches, including a hat-trick on his debut.

Hojlund is built like a tank and should be able to cope with the physical demands of the Premier League, while he is devastatingly quick. He will also give United a focal point in attack which will take the pressure off wide forwards Marcus Rashford and Antony.

Whilst Harry Kane was the player Ten Hag and United fans dreamed of signing, the 20-year-old is an exciting prospect with a very high ceiling. And unlike the Tottenham striker, who has just turned 30, he could potentially spend the next 10 years or more at the club, or be sold for a large fee.

While the need for a striker was clear from the day Cristiano Ronaldo left the club, or arguably when he began pushing for a move over the previous summer, the need for a new goalkeeper was less clear. David de Gea had papered over his lack of ball-playing skills with consistent performances, and United were ready to hand him a new contract, albeit on reduced terms. But an error-strewn end to the season led to the club biting the bullet.

The final straw for United when it came to deciding on De Gea’s future was the fact that he no longer appeared to be a capable shot-stopper, which was underlined by his gaffe against West Ham and his poor performance in the FA Cup final.

Andre Onana’s performance in the Champions League final with Inter, meanwhile, showed how a forward-thinking, ball-playing goalkeeper can transform a team. At great risk to the club’s image, United made a U-turn on De Gea and went all out to get Onana, who was Ten Hag’s No. 1 at Ajax.

Onana's audacious performances against Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund have excited fans, while his passion and mentality have also led to supporters warming to him already. His dribbling ability and passing range could unlock a world of possibilities for United and allow them to play in a completely different way to last season, when Ten Hag was forced to be pragmatic with De Gea after seeing he was not capable of playing out from the back with confidence and when under pressure.

Ten Hag had defended De Gea when he was feeling the heat of criticism, but he also did not hide his frustration over the Spaniard's lack of ability as a footballer. And he is clearly pleased to have signed Onana, who he has described as the best goalkeeper in the world when playing out.

"I think he proved it over the last seasons, but now he's coming to a new club and he has to prove it here,” the Dutchman said. “He has the potential and the skills in that aspect to improve our game and that will definitely help our team.”

Another area where United needed to strengthen was in midfield after becoming too reliant on Bruno Fernandes to orchestrate play and feed the attack, and Ten Hag felt that Mason Mount was the man he needed, five years after the England midfielder came up against his Ajax side in the Eredivisie for Vitesse, aged only 18.

Mount can play all across the midfield and attack and will add variety, depth and dynamism to the squad. He is an upgrade on Christian Eriksen as a box-to-box midfielder and can play on the right or left of the attack, but his favourite position is as a No.8.

He also has excellent ball striking ability and should be an asset at set-pieces. Mount had more goal-creating actions from set-pieces than any other Premier League player in the 2021-22 season, and can put in a deadly delivery and score direct from free-kicks. This is an area where United need to improve drastically. Last season they finished bottom of the Premier League for set-piece goals with only five and in the previous campaign they came 18th with seven.

Mount was not every fan’s choice, but Ten Hag was convinced he would be a top signing, urging United to land him despite Chelsea’s reluctance to lower their asking price. And he was delighted to get the deal over the line. “We worked so hard to get this done. I think so many clubs were looking to sign Mason and we succeeded," Ten Hag said in July. "I'm sure he will bring dynamism into our game.”

United could still add to their squad. They continue to be linked with Fiorentina midfielder Sofyan Amrabat and Japanese goalkeeper Zion Sukuki, although any new arrivals will depend on whether the likes of Scott McTominay, Fred or Harry Maguire depart for reasonable transfer fees.

“We are always looking for better quality. So if you want to be at United you have to match a really high standard, and when we find the opportunities to get better we have to do it because everyone is expecting the best from us,” Ten Hag explained during the pre-season tour.

“So we also have to raise the bar there, but it's also very important that the players understand we believe in them: believe in their potential and believe in their personalities because team spirit, togetherness, the fight together, the social connection, the relationships has to be really good among footballers. It's a team sport and when we are unified, we are stronger.”

The manager has been unapologetic about the amount of money his club has spent this summer. Given what United’s competitors have been doing, who can blame him? Arsenal have broken the English transfer record by signing Declan Rice and surpassed the £200m barrier by adding Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber. Chelsea spent more than £300m last season, topping up their squad this summer by signing Christopher Nkunku and Nicolas Jackson for an additional £100m. Liverpool have not been shy with splashing the cash either, shelling out more than £100m on Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, with more likely to come.

“You have seen all the investments which other clubs are making and you can't compete in the Premier League for the top positions when you don't invest in your squad,” Ten Hag said. “It's a choice: if you want to compete, you have to invest.”

But even though he has tried to play it down, United are undoubtedly under more pressure to perform again this season after seriously backing their manager for the second consecutive year. Ten Hag will be able to handle that and he keeps demonstrating that he is the right man to take United back to where they belong.

The club hierarchy clearly think the same and have given the Dutchman the tools he needs to complete his reconstruction project. But if the season gets off to a bad start and there are several repeats of the embarrassing thrashings that tainted his first campaign, then people will start to wonder whether he truly is.