Manchester United are entering an exciting new era with Erik ten Hag at the helm.
The Red Devils have another new manager and there is plenty of optimism about what is to come after the Dutchman left Ajax to take charge at Old Trafford. Ten Hag made an early arrival at Carrington on Monday for his first training session before being joined by 19 players.
After fitness tests, Ten Hag took his players onto the training pitch and addressed them before they got some ball work in as he begins to convey his ideas to a new group of players. They will soon be joined by those who have been involved in internationals, including Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Maguire, when they return from their delayed breaks.
A dressing room source told the Mirror : “There was a real energy about the place. Everyone was raring to go. Erik was buzzing around the training ground, meeting a lot of people, before taking training in the afternoon.
“There's always a certain amount of routine on the first day back, with fitness and health checks, but they were out on the grass doing ball work in the afternoon.”
Here's a look at five things we noticed after pictures of Ten Hag's first session were released.
1) Opening address
Ten Hag's first task was simple when he got his players on the grass - deliver a strong opening address.
The Manchester Evening News report that Ten Hag addressed the group of players for "several minutes" at the start of the session, flanked by assistants Steve McClaren and Mitchell Van der Gaag.
He will have hoped to have made a positive first impression as photos showed him looking both assertive at times and smiling warmly at others.
After his address, Ten Hag took his players through over two hours of training, mixing ball work with running drills as some players that arrived before 9am remained at the training ground until after 4pm.
First impressions are key, and Ten Hag will hope his first training address got his early message across.
2) Loanees return
Manchester United sent plenty of players out on loan last season who are now back in their colours.
Donny van de Beek is amongst those being watched keenly from afar having thrived under Ten Hag at Ajax. He was back at Carrington and seen being reunited with his former boss.
Axel Tuanzebe is reportedly amongst those Ten Hag could look to move on, but he was seen in training as he looks to take his chance to change his mind.
Youngster Amad was also back in the fold having spent last season at Rangers, whilst Anthony Martial could still resurrect his Manchester United career after a disappointing loan spell at Sevilla.
Full-backs Brandon Williams and Ethan Laird were also back with Williams spending last season being relegated with Norwich City whilst Laird moved in the opposite direction helping Bournemouth to promotion.
3) Youngsters aim to take their chance
Manchester United have a rich tradition of blooding young players - and Erik ten Hag did the same thing at Ajax.
That means there will be plenty of encouragement for United's current crop of youth talents that they could force their way into the side. That certainly appears the case for Alejandro Garnacho, who returned early despite being involved in international action for Argentina U20s in recent weeks.
Charlie Savage, the son of Robbie Savage, was also involved in Ten Hag's first session as he aims to make a positive first impression, as was Alvaro Fernandez, the highly-rated Spanish full-back, signed from Real Madrid in 2020.
Shola Shoretire was also involved having been introduced to the first-team under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and winning the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year award in 2020/21.
4) Point to prove
A new era at Manchester United means a fresh start for many players - and that will be welcome news for some.
Marcus Rashford was amongst those to be back to work on the first day of pre-season and was pictured taking part in the session with Ten Hag. It is a big year for Rashford, who has been hard at work in the off-season and returns eager to impress.
Like Rashford, Jadon Sancho was left out of England's summer plans and will be desperate to get off to a strong start under Ten Hag to cement his place in his plans. After an up-and-down debut season at United, there are high expectations of Sancho kicking-on next year.
The same applies to Aaron Wan-Bissaka, looking to show his worth with reports he is one of those who could be sold by Ten Hag to raise funds this summer.
Whilst their England snubs were a personal blow, they took advantage of their chance to get a head start on their teammates by reporting to training on Ten Hag's very first day.
5) Ten Hag keeps his eye in
Erik ten Hag had a solid albeit unspectacular career as a player. He played over 300 senior games in the Netherlands, enjoying his best spell as captain of FC Twente, where he won the Dutch Cup in 2001.
After that, he went into coaching with his hometown team and has enjoyed a much more successful career already on the other side of the touchline. But that doesn't mean he won't always be a player at heart - and he couldn't resist the urge to show off his skills at Carrington.
Ten Hag was pictured showing his ball skills by juggling the ball as his stars were put through their paces as he showed his squad he himself can play a bit.
