When Jose Mourinho and executive vice chairman Ed Woodward finalised Manchester United's list of summer transfer targets, they agreed this window would be difficult.
With £8.3 billion shared between the 20 Premier League clubs after the sale of their global television rights, plus a host of new owners at home and abroad, competition for players, they concluded, would be fierce.
A month in, and they have been proved right.
Look at their efforts to sign a new defensive midfielder. United hold an interest in Eric Dier but despite being able to pay over the odds and double the 23-year-old's wages at the drop of a hat, Tottenham can afford to stand their ground.