Julien Laurens mentions that Erik ten Hag's reaction to criticism of his Manchester United side indicates that he is already feeling the pressure.

CEO Omar Berrada has stated that the club will not be forced into making poor transfer decisions in the future, as a bad deal can set the club back.

In the past, United has been accused of overpaying for players, both in terms of transfer fees and wages.

The first summer transfer window under the new leadership team, which includes Berrada, saw United spend nearly £200 million ($221 million) on five new players.

Berrada emphasized that the club was disciplined with the fees paid for new players and highlighted the risks of making poor decisions.

He said, 'We were quite disciplined about the valuations we gave to the players we were bringing in.

We stuck to those valuations.

I think [sporting director] Dan [Ashworth] and the team did a fantastic job in the negotiation process.

' Berrada added that making mistakes and overspending on players can set the club back, which is why it is important to make the right decisions consistently over time to be in a position to win consistently.

In addition to bringing in five new players, United also approved the departures of several first-team squad members.

Sources told ESPN that some within the club had reservations about letting Scott McTominay leave.

However, Ashworth said it was part of his job to make tough decisions.

'But you can't have a bloated squad, and you're also dealing with players who ultimately want to play football.

So you want to make sure that the squad is lean, but you have enough depth.

' He mentioned that the schedule, especially with the new Europa League format, is quite demanding.

Therefore, it is important to have enough depth without carrying a bloated squad, ensuring that players remain motivated and feel they have a chance to play.

Running with too large a squad can cause problems, so sometimes brave decisions are necessary.

Another senior player was allowed to leave after moving to another club on loan on deadline day.

This happened almost a year after Jadon Sancho's public fallout with Erik ten Hag, but Ashworth insists that the 24-year-old has not been 'kicked out' of Old Trafford.

'I think with any player, whether it's Jadon, Scott, or Aaron, if they prefer to move to a new club and it's right for them and us, then you have to explore it,' Ashworth said.

'We felt we had enough depth in that particular position to cover it.

We've got four really good wide players, Jadon was a fifth, and it just enabled us to make that decision that if it was good for him and good for us, it was something we were willing to consider.

' He added that Sancho wanted to explore the opportunity at Chelsea, just as Scott wanted to explore the opportunity at Napoli, and Aaron wanted to explore the opportunity at West Ham.

'We're not in a position where we're kicking players out of the club.

'