Louis Van Gaal is his own man – that much has become clear at Manchester United, with the new manager making changes as he sees fit, be that to the formation of the team or the training ground.
And when it comes to transfers, the Dutchman is expected to again call the shots, even if the two signings made by Manchester United so far were more of the board's targets rather than the new manager's.
Of course Ander Herrera, so impressive in preseason for Manchester United, and Luke Shaw would not have been bought had Van Gaal not said OK to the moves, but it will be interesting to see just who the former Ajax, Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss chooses to bring in to Old Trafford before the transfer window closes at the end of August.
Plenty of Netherlands players that he got so much out of at the 2014 FIFA World Cup have been linked, including Kevin Strootman, Daley Blind, Stefan De Vrij and Memphis Depay, but there have also been several big names like Arturo Vidal and Mats Hummels on Van Gaal's radar.
Having spent some time now with the current United squad on their preseason tour of the United States, Van Gaal would have scrutinised and analysed just where he needs to bring in new faces, with Ed Woodward expected to be an extremely busy man over the next four and some weeks.
Despite having plenty of money to spend in the transfer window, though, Van Gaal insisted he will not buy new players just because United are expected to. "I don't buy players for the sake of it," he said. "I buy players to improve my selection.
"First, I must see what I need in all the positions from the system we shall play and, at this moment, I don't know for sure."
While Herrera has seemingly fitted in seamlessly into the United midfield, there is still plenty of work for Shaw to do, according to Van Gaal after the Dutchman asked the £27 million left-back to train away from the main group of players on Monday.
"I am a coach who looks at what individual players need and I think he needs to be fit, but he [Shaw] is not very fit," Van Gaal said. "Therefore he cannot perform what I want, so first he has to be fit and has to train individually.
"Luke Shaw is okay. I have spoken with him and we have made the programme. He agreed with me. I don't know [when he will be fit], but I have heard good messages from [fitness coach Tony] Strudwick."
Asked about a player who has not seen any action so far in the US tour, Van Gaal said it is difficult to fit Wilfried Zaha into the lineup due to his 3-5-2 formation. "When we play this system, he has to play as a striker, otherwise he cannot play," Van Gaal added. "[Ashley] Young is another winger but he can play as wing-back. We shall see."
Zaha has been tipped yet again to make a move away from Old Trafford this summer and another player who could be on the move is Javier Hernandez, with Van Gaal admitting competition for places up front was huge.
"When he plays, he will play in the striker's position and there is great competition there with [Wayne] Rooney, [Danny] Welbeck, [Robin] Van Persie, [Will] Keane, Zaha -- a lot of players."
