Rebuild won’t come cheap

Having been battered from pillar to post for his failures in last summer’s transfer window, Ed Woodward’s promise of a fluid budget for the new Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal represents a rigid dichotomy between the approach under David Moyes, even if such grand promises could easily become the sword Woodward falls upon.

After years of Glazernomics, with the emphasis on paying off mounting debts rather than investing enough in a creaking squad, Woodward’s comments confirm further the expectancy of an instant response to last season’s rolling mess.

But if money really is no object, who will Van Gaal attempt to bring in?