If Manchester United's midfield is still the same when the transfer window ends -- and it's still an "if" at the moment given sources have told ESPN that the club are in talks with Brighton over a deal for Carlos Baleba -- then the question will be: Is it enough?
Casemiro has departed and Manuel Ugarte is facing a long road back from a serious knee injury. Arriving this summer have been Andrey Santos from Chelsea and Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa for a combined fee of £85 million. The marquee signing that many supporters expected has not arrived. Not yet, anyway.
Three players considered targets at one time or another -- Elliot Anderson, Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes -- have moved elsewhere. A deal for Atlanta's Brazilian international Éderson collapsed after issues were raised during the first part of his medical.
So with less than a week to go before Man United open their Premier League campaign against Hull City on Saturday, head coach Michael Carrick is set to pick his midfield from Santos, Tielemans, Bruno Fernandes and Kobbie Mainoo.
Mason Mount has been used in central midfield during preseason with some success, but he has missed the last two games with a foot injury. Tyler Fletcher -- son of former Scotland midfielder Darren Fletcher -- is considered an exciting prospect, but still only a prospect at 19 years old.
Whoever gets the nod in United's season opener, there will be fans debating whether the team's midfield is ready for the new season.
United haven't ruled out signing a third midfielder. Aurélien Tchouaméni, Eduardo Camavinga (both Real Madrid), Alex Scott (Bournemouth), Angelo Stiller (Stuttgart), Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace), Manu Koné (Roma) and Marc Bernal (Barcelona) are among the names who have been discussed -- some more seriously than others.
The club also have interest in adding a left back to provide competition for Luke Shaw; Myles Lewis-Skelly -- whose future at Arsenal is up in the air -- can do both.
There's still over a week to go before the transfer deadline on Sept. 1 and Carrick has made it clear that he would like more signings before the end of the window. And in the same interview given to reporters at United's training base in Ireland last week, he outlined why he believes the midfield in any team is so important.
"Being a midfielder [during his playing career], that's kind of how I've seen the game," he said. "In some ways, it helps because you're kind of connected to all parts of the team over time. I'm not saying you have to be a midfielder to be a good coach, but I think it's just how my reference points are in some ways.
"What I feel has worked over the years, what kind of football I think the supporters want to see as well -- hopefully that fits together. Naturally, midfield is a big part of the teams that I've coached and been part of because that's just naturally how I see the game."
Carrick insists that even without more signings his midfield has a good "balance."
Fernandes, captain and talisman, is likely to start every game when he's available; Santos is the only recognized defensive midfielder; Mainoo had success next to Casemiro in the second half of last season and has the ability to start attacks but also thrive in the spaces around the opposition penalty box; Tielemans has filled a number of roles during spells at Leicester and Villa whether it's as a defensive midfielder, box-to-box midfielder or playmaker.
Carrick has already spoken to Tielemans about what he expects from him.
"I won't share too much," Tielemans said, when asked about the conversations. "He has got his structure. He wants to have the ball, he wants to press in certain ways. It might be different from what you are used to, what I have been used to before, but they are logical things in my opinion.
"So for me, nothing changes, but it just needs to gel together. Then when you follow those principles, then you can add your offensive qualities, especially in the last third where everything is a bit more in freedom, without obviously overcommitting and keeping the defensive line in place, then I think we can do good things."
United fans will hope he's right. United's current midfield boasts plenty of technical quality, but the debate will be about whether it needs more physicality and athleticism. Teams fielded by both Erik ten Hag and Ruben Amorim were criticized for "not having enough legs."
Carrick was part of what's considered by some supporters to be the club's last great midfield. He won the Champions League in 2008 alongside Paul Scholes and Owen Hargreaves, with Anderson and Darren Fletcher on the bench.
Since then, United have spent more than £600 million on central midfielders with precious little to show for it. There's an argument that only Fernandes, signed from Sporting CP in January 2020, has been the one real success during that time.
United will hope that, over time, Santos and Tielemans can add themselves to the list. But for now, on the eve of a new season, many fans are left wondering whether it will be enough.