Just 39 days after their 2-1 defeat to Manchester City in the FA Cup final at Wembley, Manchester United will embark on their pre-season schedule for the forthcoming campaign on Wednesday.
United take on Championship side Leeds United in Oslo in their first of eight scheduled friendlies ahead of the season opener against Wolves at Old Trafford on August 14. The trip to Norway will signal the start of another long and gruelling campaign, meaning it is vitally important that everyone treats this period seriously.
Pre-season is an opportunity for players to lay down a marker ahead of the new campaign and force their way into their manager's thoughts ahead of the big kick-off, and the situation is no different at United, certainly ahead of this opening friendly.
As a result of international fixtures taking place last month, 15 members of United's first-team squad will not be involved in Norway. They were entitled to a three-week break before reporting back to Carrington for the start of pre-season training.
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It means the likes of Diogo Dalot, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho will all be absent in Oslo. They are likely to appear in pre-season for the first time when the Reds face Lyon at Murrayfield in Edinburgh on Wednesday-week.
It means the clash with Leeds, which is likely to be played at a slow pace, just as most opening pre-season friendlies are, will represent an opportunity for manager Erik ten Hag to assess some of his fringe players and the younger members of the squad, who may find opportunities dry up once more senior figures return.
United, for example, will be without last season's first-choice midfield against Daniel Farke's side, with Christian Eriksen, Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro all having been on international duty last month. It means some of the club's fringe midfielders could join Mason Mount in getting a runout.
Mount, snapped up from Chelsea last week, will be centre of attention in Norway and is guaranteed to be the main talking point, regardless of how he performs or how many minutes he is given. He missed out on England duty last month because of injury, meaning he has been training at Carrington since the end of last week.
Many anticipate Mount to oust Eriksen from Ten Hag's first-choice midfield, joining forces with Casemiro and Fernandes in the engine room once the competitive action gets underway next month. Until then, however, a period of experimentation lies ahead.
It is why, for instance, Kobbie Mainoo will be one of a handful of youngsters hoping to throw their name into the ring over the coming weeks. The United academy graduate was fast-tracked into the first-team squad last season after catching Ten Hag's eye on the Carrington training pitches.
He leapfrogged Zidane Iqbal in the pecking order mid-season and ended the campaign with three senior appearances to his name, including a full debut against Charlton Athletic in the Carabao Cup at the age of just 17-years-old. Ten Hag is a huge fan of the midfielder and the youngster will be hoping to remain in and around the first-team squad this forthcoming season.
The Stockport-born midfielder, who is now 18, is very highly regarded by those at United hence why Ten Hag awarded him three first-team appearances last term. He is, though he is still finding his own lane, shaping up to be an all-round midfield operator, capable both defensively and offensively.
He likes to play between both boxes as a typical No.8. United, though they have numbers in midfield, are not blessed with high-level quality in reserve, meaning they may wish to retain Mainoo this summer, as opposed to sending him out on loan.
He is widely considered one of the best players in his respective age group at Old Trafford and giving him the chance to prove himself against Leeds, albeit in a meaningless friendly where fitness will be the most important takeaway, could give Ten Hag a rough idea of where he is at in his development. Once the senior figures return and United get closer towards their season opener, opportunities might not be as forthcoming.
It is why Mainoo, even if it is only for a half, as Ten Hag could choose to mix things up at the interval, deserves a chance against Leeds to prove himself, possibly alongside Mount and Fred, who are also in contention to start in Oslo. After sampling the taste of senior football in United colours last term, it is only natural that the youngster will be hungry for more.
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