The start of yet another Manchester United rebuild cannot come soon enough.

Sunday's 1-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium marked United's 12th Premier League defeat of the season, leaving them 15th in the table. They have lost eight of their last 12 in the league and the prospect of relegation is being discussed again.

Currently 12 points clear of the bottom three, it would take something extraordinary for United to be reeled even closer towards the drop zone, but just the fact it is being mentioned highlights how the club's woes are worsening.

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Despite it being unlikely United will fall through the trapdoor, they are facing the prospect of recording their lowest finish and points total in the Premier League era. Their eighth-placed finish last season was frowned upon, meaning this season's finish is going to attract unwanted headlines and then some.

United have spent more than £200million on six first-team signings since the beginning of last summer's transfer window, meaning questions will be asked of how a club can spend that much money on a new crop of players and get worse.

United brought in five new signings last summer, recruiting to the needs of former manager Erik ten Hag, before sacking him before the end of October. Ruben Amorim was appointed as his successor and immediately set about changing the club's identity by implementing his trademark 3-4-2-1 system.

Amorim's system, which has come under scrutiny in recent weeks amid United's struggle for form, is reliant on the wing-backs providing width and stretching the play. They are arguably the two most important positions within the whole team.

United identified that area as a major weakness ahead of the January transfer window and signed Lecce wing-back Patrick Dorgu to try and solve their issues on the left flank. They had been starved of a left-footed option on the left side of the defence for much of the season and the addition of a left-sided wing-back was earmarked as a priority in the mid-season window.

Signed for an initial fee of £25m, the Dane is the first piece in the Amorim jigsaw. However, several more pieces are required to allow the United head coach to implement his vision to the standard he craves.

As a result, this summer's transfer window promises to be one of the most crucial the club has faced in recent years. Countless changes need to be made across the board, both in terms of incomings and outgoings.

Several positions will need strengthening, not least at centre-forward, with scoring goals remaining this team's biggest weakness. United did not sign a striker in January because they wanted to prioritise spending in the summer ahead of the 2025/26 season.

United have already got a deal over the line ahead of next season, agreeing a £3.3m deal with Paraguayan club Cerro Porteno for left-sided defender Diego Leon. The 17-year-old visited Old Trafford last month to finalise his move to United and he will officially join the club in the summer ahead of the start of next season.

Identifying young talent early has been one of Ineos' strengths since they secured a minority stake in United last February, with deals for a handful of youngsters being completed in the past 12 months, such as for Chido Obi and Sekou Kone.

As was the case with Obi, who made his United bow from the bench against Tottenham, and Kone, United believe Leon is a player with first-team potential. Despite not turning 18 until April, he has already made 19 appearances for Cerro Porteno and is already representing his country at Under-20s level.

Leon made his most recent appearance for Paraguay's Under-20s on Sunday, scoring the winning goal as they defeated Argentina 3-2. That marked his first goal for his country in that age category.

Of course, nobody quite knows just how big a career Leon may enjoy at Old Trafford, but United acted swiftly to get a deal in place, signing him on a pre-contract agreement. United pride themselves on developing young talent and they firmly believe Leon could become a first-team regular in the future.

The youngster is a natural left-back and that department has been a problem for United for quite some time. The hope is Leon may be able to offer a long-term solution alongside Dorgu.

For an initial fee of just £3.3m, United are within their rights to take a gamble on him. It could turn out to be a very shrewd and clever piece of business.