The summer transfer period has been filled with news that Manchester United has pilfered a handful of talent ahead of their 2011-2012 campaign. Their transfer success will translate to another magnificent run at the Champions League title quite soon enough.
Sir Alex Ferguson will soon take his squad on an American tour. The trek across North America will seem more like a rock tour of a young up and coming band.
The blueprint for success has been quite simple for the last couple of years. There is a need to get young, faster and more creative. It also doesn't hurt if you can get a little more British along the way.
It is a scheme that has served them well, as can be illustrated by their recent acquisition of Javier Hernandez. Chicharito has worked his way to the cusp of stardom. It's remarkable considering his initial signing was greeted with little fanfare inside of England.
This summer has been a tribute to the prestige of Old Trafford. There is no doubt left that players want to play at United, and it makes the signings a whole lot easier.
The biggest name to switch kits has been Ashley Young. The star is coming off his best year to date, and will surely be missed at Aston Villa.
The signing would have complicated matters for a lesser side, but not here at Old Trafford. Young seems to put winger Nani out of a job for the moment.
Both Nani and the club seem keen on keeping things exactly as they were. This should further irritate the bigger clubs as a team that was already in another world as far as form last season, are that much deeper in the midfield.
Ferguson did not enter the summer for the just the here and now. He also has sights on down the road, when he may very well be retired from all this heated transfer business.
The Devils secured two young players that will surely tighten the defensive coils for many seasons to come. Phil Jones comes in as a promising, and versatile, defender.
The 19-year-old has all the tools to become a featured player in the Premier League, once he matures with top-level experience.
Trafford also welcomes David de Gea. With Edwin van der Sar continuing to age and slow, United needed an answer between the sticks.
At 20, de Gea has already drawn a weighty comparison as the next Iker Casillas. Manchester United are safe in knowing that the goalie position is locked up for years to come.
As you can see, the task is not to only be great in the present, but to continue the phenomenal form for ears to come.
It is unclear if any of the young studs will prove to have a Chicharito-like breakout. All we can say is that United entered the summer as a dominating force, and they are leaving it as an improved force. That is a scary thought for the rest of the field to consider.