The transfer window has closed with Premier League clubs spending almost £2bn to put their squads in shape for the next few months.
Managers must now go with what they have, whether it is the mega-spending seen at Chelsea and Manchester United or the shoestring existence of Leicester City.
So what are the big issues after that one final transfer spree on Thursday?
Tuchel must justify Boehly backing
Chelsea’s new ownership under American Todd Boehly wanted to make a statement that ambition and spending would not be reeled back in the post-Roman Abramovich era.
Boehly ended up making several statements by spending more in one transfer window than any other British club in history, £255.3m according to financial services firm Deloitte.
Now the pressure is on manager Thomas Tuchel to deliver, the temperature turned up by a disappointing start to the season which has included defeats at Leeds United and Southampton.
The £10m signing of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Barcelona was the final flourish on a window that brought in Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly, Marc Cucurella and Wesley Fofana in the most high-profile deals.
Boehly’s policy has appeared scattergun at times, a long-touted deal for Everton’s Anthony Gordon failing to materialise, but no-one can question his commitment to strengthening Tuchel’s squad.
Tuchel now has the materials, expensive ones, and must make them work.
We do not know yet if Boehly is as ruthless as Abramovich when dealing with managers who fail him but Tuchel can be under no illusions that expectations are now sky-high.
Can Forest survive after spending spree?
Nottingham Forest signed more players in one summer than any club in British history and it must now be justified by Premier League survival because the alternative is unthinkable after such an outlay and squad churn.
Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis has delivered an incredible 21 new players to head coach Steve Cooper and might have signed more, with a deal Michy Batshuayi falling through.
The club have a point in saying such a rebuilding process was required when seven of the 14 players who figured in the Championship play-off final win over Huddersfield Town left over the summer but the transformation and integration required of so many new faces is still unprecedented.
Forest have had a mixed start to the season, impressing when beating West Ham United and even when losing to Tottenham. They were thrashed 6-0 at Manchester City but they may not be alone in that fate this season.
Cooper is a fine coach but it is still a tough task to mould so many new players and personalities together in one dressing room. And it needs to be done quickly.
Forest now have home games against Bournemouth and Fulham to come, with a visit to Leeds sandwiched in between, and these are the fixtures likely to be significant in defining their standing this season.