The dress rehearsals are all done. The preparations are nearly over. The next time Manchester United take to the field it will be for real and we will quickly see how far they have come in just a few short weeks.
New manager Erik ten Hag has already made a positive start to life in the United hot seat. Despite being hamstrung by Cristiano Ronaldo's desire to leave and a slow transfer window, he already looks to have imposed a structured, creative and exciting style of play on his team while beginning to rebuild shattered confidence levels.
A full pre-season has been priceless for the Dutchman in that regard, while the six matches and weeks away on tour have allowed him to really assess his squad closely and settle on which players will be crucial to his set-up, those that will be on the periphery and the ones which will be ushered out of the door. With United getting their Premier League campaign underway on Sunday against Brighton, there is little time left for anyone to change his mind.
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However, Ethan Laird may well have a strong case for doing so. The young right-back is set to join Watford at any moment for his third loan stint at a Championship club but, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka unavailable at the weekend, he started in Sunday's friendly against Rayo Vallecano and gave a great account of himself.
The 20-year-old was caught out in the first few seconds after the La Liga outfit pulled off a clever opening move but, despite being targeted by the opposition, he more than held his own. In fact, he grew into the game tremendously as it went on and his early jittery nerves settled down. In the second half, he made several crucial interventions in the box, blocking two goal-bound shots for starters, showing great positional awareness and timing to do so.
Perhaps what would have made Ten Hag take note of his performance even more was his eagerness to go forwards. Laird is blessed with lightning speed and at one stage launched a counter-attack from defending a corner after he left an opponent for dust, which eventually led to fellow youngster Zidane Iqbal hitting a shot just wide.
The fact he didn't let the early slip-up define the rest of his match showed great resilience, another quality that must surely appeal to the manager. Laird has had a difficult few years with injuries and his last season was curtailed when a successful loan at Swansea City was cut short so he could join promotion-chasing Bournemouth, where he hardly featured. So another loan move to a top Championship side would definitely benefit him, but there is certainly an argument to be had that he could be United's second-choice right-back.
Especially when you consider Ten Hag doesn't fancy Wan-Bissaka. The 24-year-old was earmarked for a departure before the squad even returned for pre-season and he has done nothing in any of his five friendly performances to have changed the manager's initial assessment. Diogo Dalot, by no means a consistent performer himself, has ousted him completely from the right-back spot, largely thanks to his superiority in possession and in attack.
Likewise, Laird has also shown he is far more capable on the ball - he registered four assists each on loan spells at Swansea and MK Dons - than Wan-Bissaka, who hasn't been able to improve his game at all in his three years at Old Trafford. If anything, he has regressed and is no longer as dependable at the back. The fact that United have had no takers whatsoever is testament to his decline.
Ten Hag has proven he has no fear of giving a young player a chance if he feels he deserves it and Laird, while not the finished article, has certainly shown he could be more useful to the squad. Hopefully, there's still time to call off the loan.
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