After the start of the Premier League season, Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has suggested that the club's movement in the transfer market took a different course than it had previously.

United began the season lacking priority targets in the midfield and attack positions, and as a result, they suffered a defeat at home to Brighton by a score of 2-1, and then six days later, they were blown out by Brentford by a score of 4-0.

United had an offer of €8 million rejected for journeyman forward Marko Arnautovic on the same day that the result from Brighton was announced. United had previously agreed to pay a fee rising to £20 million for Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot three weeks prior.

Find out more about the message that Ten Hag sends to Ronaldo as he prepares to stay here.

United were prepared to go the entire transfer window without signing a defensive midfielder before they decided to spend £60 million rising to £70 million on Casemiro after their approaches for those more cost-effective targets were unsuccessful.

United announced on Monday that they had reached an agreement to sign Antony from Ajax for €100 million (£85.51 million), despite the fact that the Brazilian had been valued at €80 million at the beginning of the summer. After Paul Pogba, Antony has become Manchester United's second-most expensive player to sign.

In spite of the heated demonstrations by United fans against the Glazer family's ownership of the club, the club was able to make progress in the transfer negotiations for Casemiro and Antony.

United's spending for the summer has skyrocketed to £225.41 million, shattering their previous record in 2014 when they did not break £150 million for permanent additions. This summer, United broke the record for the most money spent on permanent additions.

Under new owner Todd Boehly, Chelsea have spent a total of £233.8 million on new players, while Arsenal, Manchester City, and Tottenham have all spent more than $100 million during this transfer window.

After Ten Hag became the first United manager to lose his first two games in charge since John Chapman in 1921, he was asked pointedly if more funds were made available: "It's not easy to provide an answer to that question. It's just a thought experiment. You never really know how things will turn out, regardless of whether you arrive earlier or later. It will take some time.

Antony is going to sign up with United.
"First, we very quickly determined which positions we desired, and then we determined which players we desired to fill those positions. The procedure determines whether you receive them or not. There are more parties involved, and there are many factors that contribute to the complexity of the situation.

"The market, then, and how it evolved over time. The previous year, the benchmark was only five transfers worth more than £60 million, and I'm not sure how many there are now.

"There was never a shortage of money. They changed things up in response to how the market was, and I believe that the club handled the situation very capably. You don't have a choice if you want to compete at the highest levels if you want to be successful (but to spend).

"This amount of money was spent by each of the clubs. You are going to have to put in the effort if you want to compete for one of the top four spots. To compete for trophies is one of our primary goals, especially over the course of the long term. I believe that we were required to do this.

"During the summer, significant sums of money were spent by every major club. That is the trajectory that the market has taken. Nothing that I can do will help the situation. There is nothing anyone can do to help the situation. It's a matter of the market. Acceptance is the only option.

"I believe it is a signal (of intent), but I believe all of the big clubs in the Premier League spent a lot of money in the market," the author says.

In spite of striving for goals that he is already familiar with, Ten Hag insisted that he does not feel under any additional pressure. Christian Eriksen trained with Ajax at the beginning of the year, Antony and Lisandro Martinez worked with Ten Hag for two years at Ajax, and Tyrell Malacia impressed Ten Hag when Feyenoord played against Ajax.