Manchester United fans were beside themselves when Bastian Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schneiderlin were confirmed as new recruits within hours of each other as, finally, the midfielder - or schmidfield in this case - had been addressed after years and years of neglect.
Having stuffed the likes of Marouane Fellaini and Phil Jones into the defensive midfield role in recent times, the acquisition of a genuine defensive minded midfielder - and someone who had been one of the leading players in the Premier League at the position - meant that one of the team's biggest needs had been addressed, but it hasn't quite worked out like that as the season has gone on.
That's not to say that Schneiderlin has been bad, he certainly hasn't, but he hasn't been particularly good either. His total nullification of Mesut Ozil at Old Trafford in "the Marcus Rashford game" stands out as a highlight in an otherwise average campaign, and the Frenchman himself has admitted that he hasn't been as effective as he had hoped.
Speaking to L'Equipe ahead of Euro 2016, Schneiderlin admitted that his season has been similar to United's as a team.
I’ve been like the squad. Some good matches and some that were not as good. But everything is definitely different at Manchester United. A good match at Southampton can be viewed as a bad one in Manchester.
When I signed for Manchester United, I wanted to play all the matches – to play well all the time. So I’m not fully satisfied. I’m not dissatisfied, I’m not satisfied – I’m in the middle.
But it’s my first year. I’m convinced that I’ll come back very, very strong next season.
That will no doubt make for good reading for fans of the club, as the majority of them will have shared Schneiderlin's view that more was expected of him having made the move from Southampton.
The Frenchman also revealed that he is nervous over his place in the ultra-competitive French squad, with Leicester City's N'Golo Kante proving to be a big issue for a man who has been an ever-present in Didier Deschamps' squads over the last two years.
It would be a lie to say that I’m 100 percent optimistic. My chances have decreased a little bit.
But it would also be lying if I said that I don’t believe I’ll make it.
For two years, I have practically made every squad. It was a dream. It is always at the back of my mind.
An honest take from Schneiderlin, and it's always good to see footballers actually talk to the media as opposed to trotting out the usual bullshit that has come straight from a PR briefing.
While Manchester United have lost out in the race for Renato Sanches, Schneiderlin, one feels, will need to step his game up next season and the links to Chelsea midfielder Nemanja Matic are a sure sign that the club are not fully satisfied with what has been shown in the midfield role this campaign.
