That window brought in Di Maria and Falcao. Sure they both didn't work out but far from a bad transfer window in terms of attracting players.

With that being said, a few things have changed:

Adidas is paying us 75 million a season and we haven't been worth that money on the pitch. We would need - more than ever that is - Hollywood signings to remain relevant commercially (Pogba and Zlatan).

Raiola needs to grow his influence in the upper echelons of the EPL especially in light of the new television deal and Spain's relatively diminished financial influence - and only too happy to do business with a giant like United (Pogba, Mkhi and Zlatan).

Circumstances had it that Pogba calls this place home and has a point to prove here - and that he did not have an abundance of options for a move that would grow his commercial profile certainly did not hurt. Zlatan is on his last great adventure and probably determined to put one over Pep, and the wages on offer combined with the chance of conquering the world's most competitive league and making a last run at the UCL (next season) doesn't hurt.

Lastly, Mourinho's pulling power is too great for most players to resist. Anyone who wants to add trophies to their CV would at least seriously consider it- he was certainly the best choice of manager available to players like Mkhi whose at the prime of his career, and Zlatan, who has worked with him before, was keen to work with him again.

If this season produces a serious title challenge, I would expect this to be the trend, perhaps with less exorbitant fees than 89 million pounds.