COMMENT: The Cup's been won. Now the deal must be done.
It has to have dawned on Ed Woodward this week. Every day. Indeed, every hour. The longer it takes to negotiate Louis van Gaal's pay-off, the more ground Manchester United lose on those they still aspire to compete with.
The FA Cup is tucked away. A nice going away present for Van Gaal. One he was eager to shake under the noses of the waiting media after Saturday's triumph over Crystal Palace. But across town, Granit Xhaka, of Borussia Monchengladbach, was having a medical at Arsenal. And in Cobham, Chelsea were awaiting Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis' response to their formal bid for Kalidou Koulibaly.
The Xhaka and Koulibaly news broke Friday. 48 hours on and United may have the Cup, but they're already being left at the starter's gate in the race for this summer's best available talent.
The Koulibaly offer from Chelsea was made on Antonio Conte's recommendation. As was their bid for Roma midfielder Radja Nainggolan. Despite denials at the Rome end, there's growing confidence the Belgian will soon be in London. At Arsenal, they're so sure of agreement with Gladbach that they've assigned Xhaka a shirt number.
Further north at Liverpool, they're already preparing to welcome Joel Matip from Schalke. Terms are close to being struck for Mainz goalkeeper Loris Karius. And a bid for Mario Gotze will be lodged some time today with Liverpool, out of respect to Bayern Munich, waiting until after the German Cup final before tabling a formal offer.
But at United, it's tumbleweeds. There is no movement. It is utter inaction. It's why Renato Sanches will be running around at the Allianz Arena next season and not Old Trafford.
Jorge Mendes, Sanches' agent, wanted to place the Benfica teen at United. The player's preference was United and the chance to play for Jose Mourinho. But the urgings of Mendes and Benfica to Woodward were met with stony silence. In the end, the pressure from Bayern (and Barcelona it has since emerged) was too much, particularly for Luis Felipe Vieira, the Benfica president. With United at a standstill, Benfica accepted Bayern's offer and Sanches was lost.
It's not like there isn't any business being done at Carrington. But it's all occurring below the first team.
Nicky Butt, the club's academy boss, has just raided Sheffield United for Nicky Cox, who will arrive as a new youth coach. A deal has been struck with Feyenoord teen Tatih Chong. And there's been high-profile trials for Belgian youngster Keith Groeneveld and Portuguese whizkid Paulo Costa.
In contrast, the summer market campaign of the first team remains stuck in neutral. It can't even move into first gear with Mourinho still waiting to be confirmed.
If Saturday night's press conference was to be Van Gaal's final act as United manager, it's not a bad way to make his exit. There he was, with the FA Cup plonked in front of him, firing off one last rally at the English media. At first, he looked knackered. But he caught a second wind when Karen Shotbolt, United's press officer, attempted to cut short the Q&A and usher him away. Van Gaal didn't budge. He didn't even acknowledge Karen, forcing her to retake her seat. And then he let rip. The media were wrong about Memphis Depay. He had defied "my friends in the media" to win a "title". And third place would've been achieved if not for "14 injuries between November and December". "What other manager could achieve that?" he defiantly declared.
He was in good form and it was great fun. He even left shaking the Cup at the press and sarcastically saying: "Thank-you for your congratulations".
But as entertaining as it was, Van Gaal also unintentionally gave reason why it hasn't worked for him at Old Trafford. Yes, he can blame injuries for "not going from fourth to third" this season, as he stated. But that's his fault.
Van Gaal's insistence on working with a small senior group, with the remaining numbers coming from the academy, simply doesn't work in the Premier League - especially for a club of United's demands. That he was still there last night, reiterating that only injuries thwarted him from meeting this season's targets was ridiculous. It was Van Gaal's approach to squad building that failed the club. It was his refusal to accept what worked on the continent would fail in the Premier League that cost United a top four finish. Yes, Leicester City won the league with a consistent XI, but they had no European football to contend with and no expectations of winning a Cup. The demands on a United squad are completely different.
Which is why a third season for LVG is unthinkable. He isn't going to change. Nor are the tactics, the man-management nor the style. Last night, Van Gaal's performance, with both hands clasping the Cup simply compounded it.
And with every hour Woodward dithers on making this change, United's chances of making up the ground being lost to their rivals diminish.