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Rossoneri Sport Investment Lux's takeover of AC Milan may have been a painfully protracted affair but the club's new owners have wasted little time in investing in new players, with their summer spending spree set to pass the €200 million mark by the end of the week.
When the Chinese consortium finally acquired a 99.93 per cent stake in the seven-time champions of Europe in April, new chairman Yonghong Li promised to restore the San Siro side to their former glory.
"We've completed a key stop on the road to revival and for the future we promise that step-by-step, we'll lead this legendary team back to the summit of world football," he declared.
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Although Vincenzo Montella's exciting young side finished a creditable sixth in Serie A last season, thus securing a return to European competition for the first time in three years, it was clear that the first team was in need of investment.
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Encouragingly for Milan fans, the club's new Chinese owners are fulfilling their promise to overhaul the playing squad.
Just three days into July, an impressive €109 million has already been spent on new talent, with Portugal striker Andre Silva the most exciting - and expensive - arrival at €40m.
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However, big things are also expected of Ivorian midfielder Franck Kessie, who has arrived in Milan on a two-year loan deal from Atalanta but with an obligation to buy, after a break-out season in Bergamo in which he drew comparisons to compatriot Yaya Toure.
At €18m, the signing of Mateo Musacchio looks a gamble but it could pay off spectacularly if the Argentine centre-half is well and truly over his injury issues, while Switzerland international Ricardo Rodriguez, who was acquired at the same price, could well be the solution to Milan's long-standing left-back problem.
The €5m deal for forward Fabio Borini has been greeted with indifference among the Rossoneri faithful, given his dismal strike rate in English football, but greater excitement surrounds the imminent arrival of Bayer Leverkusen's set-piece specialist Hakan Calhanoglu, whose €25m signing will see Milan's spending climb to €134m.
However, Milan are poised to complete three more transfers in the coming days.
The Rossoneri are finally set to reach an agreement with Lazio for their excellent midfielder Lucas Biglia, for a fee around €20m, while the dynamic right-back Andrea Conti is expected to follow in Kessie's footsteps by joining from Atalanta, at an estimated cost of €24m, now that he has returned from representing Italy at the Under-21 European Championships.
In addition, Milan are also set to take advantage of the instability at Fiorentina - now up for sale - by snapping up talented striker Nikola Kalinic, who should be allowed to leave the Artemio Franchi for around €30m, taking Milan's total spend over €200m.
Whether Montella's men will prove to be the 'anti-Juve' that Serie A is crying out for remains to be seen, but after years of being left bitterly frustrated by the parsimony of the final days Silvio Berlusconi's reign, Milan fans can finally look forward to a new season with real optimism.
In that regard, this summer is already a positive first step on the long road back to the summit of world football for the club's ambitious Chinese owners.