If you follow the line pushed by Aston Villa’s recruitment team, the club’s transfer policy is a thorough process that leaves little to chance.
An evolving list of about 500 players, which is reduced carefully to shortlists of eight or 10 for every position. That narrative bears little relation to Villa’s activity in January.
As Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio prepare to join on loan on Sunday for combined salaries at the thick end of £500,000 a week, it feels a little like Villa are making it up as they go along.
Transfer chief Monchi has a grand reputation and a title – president of football operations – to match. He is one of the highest-paid in his field in the Premier League but Unai Emery runs the show at Villa Park and there is scepticism within the game about how much influence Monchi actually wields.
Has he presented the profiles of Rashford and Asensio to Emery after weeks of exhaustive research? Or does Emery say simply ‘Get me these guys’ and off Monchi goes to do his bidding? Work that one out for yourselves.
There is a chance Rashford and Asensio score and create the goals that help Villa qualify for the Champions League. They are experienced internationals and, at their best, very effective players.
Aston Villa’s recruitment looks improvised – are Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio the best they can do?

Asensio (pictured) and Rashford are out of favour and will cost around £500,000 a week

It will be difficult for Unai Emery and Monchi (right) to replace the impact of Jhon Duran
The list of forwards Emery has worked with successfully is impressive: Kylian Mbappe, Edinson Cavani, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Gerard Moreno, Ollie Watkins. You question Emery’s coaching skill at your peril.
Unfortunately, it is two years since Rashford played well consistently and the 27-year-old arrives with more baggage than your average flight from London to Sydney. Villa need Rashford to hit the ground running but he has not played since December 12.
Asensio, despite enormous potential as a teenager, has never been a key man for a major club. That is why he started barely 100 league games in seven seasons for Real Madrid and has made little impact at Paris Saint-Germain. For context, Jude Bellingham has already started 45 times and is only halfway through his second season.
Where do they all fit in? When he has competition for his spot, Watkins goes into his shell – as he did when Jhon Duran, now sold to Al-Nassr, was snapping…