Manchester United are making a real statement in the transfer market as they try and mount a genuine title challenge in the season ahead.
After finally landing Jadon Sancho to turbo-charge their attack, United moved swiftly to fix a long-standing weakness in central defence with the signing of Raphael Varane from Real Madrid.
United have shelled out £42million for the France centre half, who will partner their captain Harry Maguire in the heart of defence.
Manchester United are on the cusp of completing the signing of Frenchman Raphael Varane
It's another statement signing by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's team ahead of the new campaign
Varane will become the 13th French player to pull on the red of United and it's fair to say the previous dozen have been a mixed bag.
A handful have made a real name for themselves at Old Trafford and will be fondly remembered in United's history. The jury remains out on a pair of current French players while other names you'll have completely forgotten about.
We rank the 12 French players to have turned out for United.
12. William Prunier
Two matches; 1995-96
The briefest of United careers but certainly one of the most extraordinary. Defender Punier had left Bordeaux and was signed by United on a trial basis in December 1995.
Alex Ferguson was on the look-out for a defender who could pass the ball well and he intended to play Prunier in a couple of reserve games for starters.
However, Prunier's arrival at Old Trafford coincided with a defensive injury crisis with Steve Bruce, Gary Pallister and David May all sidelined.
There was nothing for it but to thrust Prunier straight into first team action. His debut, a 2-1 home win over Queens Park Rangers, saw him partner Gary Neville in central defence and he even claimed an assist for Andy Cole's goal.
Frenchman William Pruner endured an extraordinarily brief career at Old Trafford
His second game, against Tottenham at White Hart Lane, was an absolute disaster. United had also seen Peter Schmeichel and Denis Irwin succumb to injury, leaving their back line looking makeshift to say the least.
They lost 4-1 and Prunier became something of a scapegoat for the result. Despite that, Ferguson actually offered to extend his trial but Prunier decided to leave and went on to play for Copenhagen, Montpellier and Toulouse.
'I played one game with the reserves, two in the Premier League, it was an extraordinary experience,' Prunier told French outlet So Foot in 2017. 'It's a shame that it all turned to bulls***.'
11. Gabriel Obertan
28 matches, one goal; 2009-2011
It wasn't the most auspicious start for winger Obertan when he arrived at Old Trafford in the same summer that superstar Cristiano Ronaldo departed to Real Madrid.
Signed for £3million from Bordeaux, Obertan suffered an immediate setback when a spinal injury delayed his United debut.
Gabriel Obertan (right) was no more than a bit-part player during two seasons for Man United
Obertan smashes home his one and only goal for United - against Bursaspor in November 2010
He was never more than a bit-part player in his two seasons with United with his highlight coming when he scored in a 3-0 Champions League win over Turkish club Bursaspor.
But it was a tale of Premier League cameos and outings in the League Cup most of the time for Obertan, who was sold on to Newcastle United in the summer of 2011.
10. David Bellion
40 matches, eight goals; 2003-2006
Bellion's arrival in the summer of 2003 raised a few eyebrows given that Sunderland had just finished bottom of the Premier League.
But the striker, then 21, had been tipped for big things during his youth career at Cannes and was a France under-21 international.
French striker David Bellion fires home against Arsenal in a League Cup quarter-final in 2004
Bellion performed well given limited opportunities but never made a real United breakthrough
To his credit, Bellion scored eight goals in his two seasons at Old Trafford amid limited opportunities. He was never likely to usurp Ruud van Nistelrooy, Diego Forlan, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Louis Saha in the pecking order.
He did score in Premier League games against Everton and Tottenham during the 2003-04 season but was increasingly frozen out and he ultimately returned to his homeland with Nice.
9. Morgan Schneiderlin
47 matches, one goal; 2015-2017
It's not really Schneiderlin's fault but he came to symbolise the epic wastage of Louis van Gaal's time as United manager.
Having built a strong reputation for himself at Southampton, whom he helped back to the Premier League from League One in successive seasons, United parted with £25m to sign him in 2015.
It was part of a considerable and expensive Van Gaal overhaul that summer, with Memphis Depay, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Anthony Martial and Matteo Darmian also coming in.
Morgan Schneiderlin didn't come cheap at about £20m but failed to make much impression
The French midfielder was very much a Van Gaal signing with Mourinho casting him aside
We all know how that ended. United continued to play turgid football and, despite winning the FA Cup, Van Gaal was unceremoniously sacked.
Midfielder Schneiderlin played 39 times in his first season at Old Trafford but whereas Van Gaal trusted him, his successor Jose Mourinho took one look and thought 'nah'.
What was miraculous was that, despite largely warming the bench in 2016-17, United managed to claw back over £20m for Schneiderlin when they sold him to Everton in the January window.
8. Laurent Blanc
75 matches, four goals; 2001-2003
Ferguson was a long-standing admirer of Blanc, who'd helped organise the French back line when they won the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship.
What nobody expected was that Ferguson would finally get his man when he was 35 and, worse still, that he was a replacement for Jaap Stam, booted out to Lazio after comments about the manager in his autobiography.
Laurent Blanc celebrates one of his four goals for United - against Boavista in December 2001
The French defender culminated his playing career by winning the Premier League title
Blanc, or 'Larry White' as United fans rechristened him, was unsurprisingly past his best yet brought his experience to bear in 75 outings for United.
His first season saw him play regularly but United were no match for Double-winners Arsenal.
His second saw fewer appearances after Rio Ferdinand was signed but Blanc concluded not only his time at United but his whole career on a high with a Premier League triumph.
7. Fabien Barthez
139 matches; 2000-2004
Fabien Barthez came with a reputation as being one of the world's best keepers but his time at United was a mixed bag
After United's search for a reliable goalkeeper post-Peter Schmeichel had chewed up and spat out Mark Bosnich and Massimo Taibi, they turned to Fabien Barthez in the summer of 2000.
Having won the World Cup and the Euros with France, Barthez rightly had a reputation as one of the world's best keepers so the £7.8m United paid Monaco for him seemed a bargain.
It all started well. Barthez was known to be eccentric, enjoying dribbling past opposition players, and was capable of stunning reaction saves and the fans lapped it up as United won a third successive Premier League title in 2001.
However, there were some signs those idiosyncrasies could prove costly, such as when Barthez stood there with his arm raised appealing for offside to allow West Ham's Paolo Di Canio to score and dump United out the FA Cup.
And the following season was marked by a series of high-profile blunders as his confidence slumped. United lost 3-1 at title rivals Arsenal after Barthez gifted two goals to his compatriot Thierry Henry.
Barthez stands and appeals for an offside that never came as Paolo Di Canio scores in 2001
He was guilty of two howlers to gift Thierry Henry a double in a November 2001 game
His third season ended with another
