Even that screams bad planning. ETHg got the job on the 21st April, nearly 2 months ago. You would like to think some sort of transfer discussion was had before that anyway. So why not approach Barca in May and give a direct deadline.
What makes you think they didn't speak to his agent who probably said that Frenkie was happy where he was? You have to remember that Frenkie wasn't fishing for a move. Its Barca that needs to sell and if Barca wants to maximise their transfer fee, they cant look desperate.
So after ETH officially starts for United he then had to work on Frenkie to convenience him why United is a better option for his career. That's not a 10-minute pitch. A lot of due diligence and analysis had to go into that -- so ETH had to figure out what his budget and negotiate it with the BOM.
But before that ETH has to do his own analysis of the United squad then decide what his best approach that stays true to his own philosophy is. Then what are the tools/players he has on hand and whats the gaps?
Then he may have to go back to the BOM and ask for more money based on his due diligence/analysis of the squad. Thats not a one-day decision. There are processes in place in all companies on their budgetary process.
What people are looking at is the tip of an iceberg. There are so many more analyses, planning decisions and working within a hierarchy that is done behind closed doors that were not seen by the fans.
You just have to look at United's org chart and you can see the complexity of any major financial decisions that are made. Its no different to any other company.
ETH only got there in late May. Why do you think there has been nothing coming out of his mouth since that first day? There is a shitload of things to do as a manager or someone with financial responsibilities.
Fans are like any other customers -- they have no clue how much work is done behind the development of the product. What you see as an end product is really the tip of the iceberg. Hundreds or thousands of hours had to be put in before the product gets to the shelf.