Cristiano Ronaldo is staying...so where does that leave Manchester United?

So there we have it. Manchester United's prodigal son will not be returning after all. I've shed a quick tear, and now like any self respecting man that has been scorned it's time to analyze the broken pieces and figure out "what's next?"

What I desperately hope first and foremost is that this "pursuit" of Ronaldo hasn't endangered the chances of signing peripheral figure and true Madridista Alvaro Morata. It appears as if he is one of Mourinho's main targets, and I think he would make an excellent addition to our squad. I'm still #Rashy4eva but it's clear that he's not going to be able to shoulder the load up front by himself. Couple that with Tony Martial's "evolution" (or poor performance) shuttling him outside to the wing and United aren't exactly loaded up top.

However, there's a flipside to chasing Morata. If Madrid feel that United have really settled on Morata as the man they're taking to Old Trafford this summer, there's a chance Perez will obstruct the move in an effort to get United to budge on their valuation of sensational Spanish number one David de Gea. UNITED CANNOT LET THIS HAPPEN. De Gea is quite simply the Red Devil's best player, and has saved United from more scares than most fans would care to admit. If chasing Morata means giving up leverage to Perez and Madrid over United's prized asset, my hope is that Ed Woodward will come to his senses and realize Morata is just not worth it.

And now my head hurts...

Where do United go from here? If they try and negotiate with Madrid they risk losing a player they sorely need to mount a title challenge next season. Another possible target would be Torino's Andrea Belotti, but United have apparently expressed a reticence to meet the staggering 85 million pound release clause slapped on him by his club. He is a quality player, but there has been a lot said about the decline in quality of Serie A in comparison to some of it's European counterparts and spending such money on a player who has yet to shine on a bigger stage will give United cause for concern.

Despite all the buzz regarding the attacking situation at United, Mourinho does seem keen to add another presence in the midfield as well. Monaco's star duo of Fabinho and Tiemoue Bakayoko have been linked, although the latter does appear to be close to a move to Chelski. More sensible options might reside domestically, as both Tottenham's Eric Dier and Chelski's Nemanja Matic have starred in the gossip pages. If Mourinho has the option of weakening a rival to the Premier League title, I would be wholly in favor of moving for one of these players. Dier would feasibly be the more talented and have an upward trajectory, but Matic has long had an admirer in Mourinho and stealing a key piece from the Premier League champions sounds pretty darn good to me!

Lost in all of the transfer mayhem is the fact that United possess several youngsters that appear capable of taking another step in the upcoming season. Mourinho has been accused of stifling the development of young players in the past, and while it clearly irks him, there is plenty of evidence to back up the claims. If players like Axel Tuanzebe, Timothy Fosu-Mensah, and to a lesser extent Angel Gomes follow the same path as Josh McEachran, Charly Musonda, and Lucas Piazon (and many others) than this transfer window will have undoubtedly hurt United more than helped. This is not to say reinforcements are not needed, but it's easy to lose sight of the bigger picture during this crazy summer transfer window. If United were to acquire a midfield player to get that shaggy haired Belgian out of the side, and pick up a striker that could help lessen the burden placed on young Rashy's shoulders it will have been a very successful summer for the Reds after already acquiring a first team center half.