Manchester United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward has taken a major step forward in convincing the club's fans he is up to the task of replacing David Gill by completing successful negotiations over a five-year contract extension for Adnan Januzaj.
Agreement was finally reached late last night over a deal that will keep the Belgium-born wide-man at Old Trafford until 2018.
Whilst manager David Moyes is understandably delighted at the news, it also marks a personal triumph for Woodward, who came under such scrutiny after United's failure to secure the targets they attempted to sign during the summer transfer window.
It is understood Woodward had to navigate a delicate set of discussions, and fend off a number of illegal approaches to keep one of the most sought-after young players in Europe.
With memories still fresh over the exit of midfielder Paul Pogba, who has made such a positive impact at Juventus, it could be argued Woodward has scored a moral victory over Gill.
It was certainly an enlightening experience for Woodward considering the number of middle-men, claiming to represent other clubs, who emerged at various stages of the negotiating process.
An Old Trafford source said: "It has not been the easiest deal to put together.
"There has been a lot of diplomacy involved and whilst the club is obviously delighted to have secured Adnan's services for an additional five years, it is terrific news for Ed too.
"A lot of questions have been asked about him but he has been working on this deal for months and he deserves a lot of credit for bringing it to a successful conclusion."
The 18-year-old, whose international future remains open to debate amid speculation he is open to the possibility of playing for England once he qualifies on residency grounds in 2016, has already made a big impression this season, scoring both goals in a 2-1 win at Sunderland earlier this month.
"It's a great thrill to be able to sign for Manchester United," said Januzaj. "Since arriving here I have always felt like this was the right club for me.
"This season has been great for me - going on the pre-season tour, making my debut in the Community Shield win at Wembley and then breaking into the team at Sunderland - it's like a dream.
"I want to work hard now and establish myself as a Manchester United player."
Januzaj could even make his Champions League debut on Wednesday, when United face Real Sociedad.
He was registered earlier this week after United delayed completing the paperwork deliberately so he could be added to the B List, meaning he did not have to be part of the official 25-man squad Moyes submitted to UEFA at the start of the tournament.
After collecting four points from their opening two games, the Sociedad encounter represents a chance to consolidate their position - the La Liga outfit have surprisingly lost both their matches so far.
European exposure would represent another step forward in Januzaj's career which, for the short-term at least, will be spent at Old Trafford.
"I'm delighted that Adnan has committed his future to United," said Moyes.
"He is an outstanding talent and has impressed me consistently since I came to United in July.
"His balance, poise and ability to beat players is truly exceptional for a boy of his age.
"It's great that he recognises that this club, with its tradition for developing young players and giving them a chance on the biggest stage, is the best place for him to be."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article