Confidence is high at Manchester United that the club could secure major transfer targets Harry Kane and Declan Rice, even if they fail in their aim to finish in the top four this season.
With a period of change on the way – including the expected arrival of a new manager – the Red Devils are ready to spend big.
And while Man United currently sit in fourth place in the Premier League, they are locked in a tough battle to make sure they will be back in the Champions League next season. Both surprise package West Ham and Arsenal sit just four points behind them, with the Gunners also having played three games fewer, putting United's position in danger.
Without the promise of Champions League football next season, United's ability to convince top-tier talent to Old Trafford is severely compromised.
But sources cited in reports from ESPN point to the 2016 signing of Paul Pogba has proof that the club can still attract world-class players, provided they are willing to spend the money. United completed the move for the French midfielder for £90m from Juventus that year, despite the fact the Old Lady had won five consecutive Serie A titles and were in the Champions League – while the side he was joining had just finished fifth and could only offer Europa League football.
Both England stars Kane and Rice, who are expected to play pivotal roles for the Three Lions in this year's World Cup, have made no secret of their desire to play Champions League football.
In 2016, United could offer Pogba a role in a new era for the club under the then-incoming manager Jose Mourinho. As well as a hefty contract, of course.
Are the club now banking on the promise of a new manager bounce to help them fulfil their transfer hopes this summer?
PSG gaffer Mauricio Pochettino currently leads the Manchester United next manager odds, just ahead of Ajax's Erik ten Hag, current interim Ralf Rangnick, and Spurs' Antonio Conte – who cast doubt on his future in London after defeat to Burnley on Wednesday.
Do any of them possess the star power Mourinho still did in 2016? Pochettino is probably the closest to that, although Ten Hag's Ajax have scored 70 and conceded just five in the Eredivisie this season.
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