Baines bid goes in but Reds’ priorities lie elsewhere

After all, the club is still trying to seal the £20 million transfer of Barcelona midfielder Thiago Alcântara, while United’s new chief Edward Woodward appears prepared to push through a huge deal for Cristiano Ronaldo in the unlikely event that Real Madrid decide to let him go.

The former is far more likely than the latter, with United having reportedly agreed personal terms with the Spanish under-21 star who scored a hat-trick in the Euro Under-21 finals this month.

Indeed, it is in central midfield where United’s investment this summer must surely flow, with Michael Carrick the only Reds midfielder to come out of last season with any genuine credit. Tom Cleverley suffered a major dip in form during the second half of the campaign and Darren Fletcher remains sidelined with a long-term chronic illness, while Anderson is perennially injured and Paul Scholes has retired for a second time.

If Moyes cannot seal Alcântara’s transfer before August ends – or that of another central midfielder – the negligent under-resourcing of that part of United’s squad will have continued into a sixth summer window. It is almost unthinkable.

Thiago Alcantara remains on the top of United’s wish-list

Moyes has other questions to solve too. United’s paucity of in-form wingers is a concern despite Wilfried Zaha’s impending arrival from Crystal Palace, with Ashley Young, Antonio Valencia and Nani each suffering injury and severe loss of form last year.

The Scot will also want to strengthen United’s striking options should Wayne Rooney fail to commit to the club after a summer of speculation.

It leaves Moyes with much to ponder ahead of his first official day in the job next Monday. The players, including vice-captain Evra, are due for the first day of pre-season training on Wednesday before the squad heads off to Asia and Australia for this summer’s tour.

Still, if it is to be Baines then United will secure the league’s best performing left-back last season – a player who has continued to improve each season during six campaigns on Merseyside.

There is also plenty of supporting evidence in the data for those keen on Baines’ acquisition: the Englishman produced more tackles, more interceptions and less defensive errors than Evra last season. The Everton man also put in five times more crosses than Evra, and created more than 100 chances from open play – to lead the Premier League in that statistic ahead of David Silva, Santiago Cazorla and Juan Mata.

In that, together with United’s fondness for Alcântara, there is hope that Moyes will support a breed of attacking and vibrant football that few have witnessed during the Scot’s decade on Merseyside.