Man Utd's big-money double transfer bid proves Dan Ashworth has learned nothing from Liverpool

Liverpool is yet to make a move in the transfer market - though there are still four weeks remaining for deals to be done - while Manchester United has been busier than most. The real winner of the window, however, won't be properly evident for another few months .

For the Reds, this summer has been about adapting to a new head coach in Arne Slot . In terms of transfers, it is about quality over quantity, though the expectation was always that things would be likelier to heat up in August and not before.

Manchester United , though, now with the much-heralded Dan Ashworth at the helm, needed more surgery. Erik ten Hag was retained after winning the FA Cup, despite his struggles since arriving from Ajax. Multiple new players are expected to have arrived for him by the time the window slams shut.

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According to The Athletic , having already signed Leny Yoro and Joshua Zirkzee this summer, Manchester United has now made a joint bid for two Bayern Munich players — center-back Matthijs de Ligt and right-back Noussair Mazraoui. The offer has been rejected but the Old Trafford side is expected to return with an increased proposal, having already agreed personal terms with the duo.

All of those moves — the latest two in particular — are very Manchester United. Yoro was a player that Liverpool wanted and it is a coup to have got him, but the salary package that was given to the teenager was well above what he would have got either at Anfield or at Real Madrid . The 18-year-old took a fair bit of convincing.

Zirkzee scored only 11 league goals last season and is a similar level of player to Rasmus Hojlund; the pair have potential but are far from proven. Ten Hag, though, who is under pressure in terms of his long-term future, needs immediate results.

De Ligt and Mazraoui, meanwhile, are players who have failed to make enough of an impression with Bayern Munich — a team that Manchester United is aiming to overtake in the European pecking order. It feels a bit like Arsenal trying to overhaul Manchester City by buying Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko; there is a reason that the Bundesliga side is willing to cash in.

All the while, the glaring hole in the Manchester United roster is in the center of its midfield, even before a potential move to Fulham for Scott McTominay. So far, though, Ten Hag has not brought anyone in for that position. Yoro's injury (he is set to be sidelined for three months) appears to have accelerated the need to sign De Ligt as well.

Behind the scenes, Manchester United will inevitably be more sensible under the new management with Jim Ratcliffe having made several seemingly good hires - Ashworth included, alongside the likes of Christopher Vivell and Omar Berrada. The evidence in the market so far, though, is that the Old Trafford side still seems closer to typical Manchester United than patient Liverpool on the transfer sliding scale.

Liverpool is yet to make a move, but when it does, it will be a sensible addition, on reasonable wages and who should make a substantial difference. As it stands, Manchester United's dealings don't look like ones that will really turn the dial.