It's always a key time for young players at Premier League clubs, but Alvaro Fernandez should have an added swagger when he reports for pre-season with Manchester United this summer.
The Spaniard was tested at Championship level in 2022/23, down the road with Preston North End, and passed with flying colours. Fernandez and PNE won't have known a great deal about each other this time last year, but the relationship built quickly and only blossomed the further the campaign progressed.
Ryan Lowe's men ultimately saw their season fizzle out in underwhelming fashion, but Fernandez was a constant bright spark for an otherwise safe and steady outfit. There was a refreshing vibrancy and gutsy fearlessness to the youngster from minute one and for that, the appreciation from the stands was always there.
In his first start - after two lively substitute appearances in the Championship - Fernandez caused havoc in Huddersfield, providing two identical but equally eye catching assists in the Carabao Cup.
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There were some question marks about the time Fernandez would take to settle into life as a Preston player, having had no experience of senior football prior to the loan switch. But his performance in the Terriers rout made it abundantly clear that this kid was ready to go. And that is what made the three-and-a-half week absence which followed all the more frustrating.
The Championship has often not felt too far behind the Premier League, but that gulf is undoubtedly increasing with the pace of the game and individual talent on offer in the top flight far superior. What Fernandez did was bring a dose of that to Deepdale, a level of technique which clubs such as North End aren't often blessed with.
The touch was slicker; the movement sharper. Fernandez played the game one step ahead - taking the ball in, only to explode forward, where so many others would pass the ball backwards.
Lowe isn't often one for piling on the individual praise, but with Fernandez it became impossible. In February, he said: "Alvaro is a good player isn't he? He is another youngster, who sometimes wants to do a little bit more than he thinks he can do - because he has got that quality. When we moved him inside, he was getting the ball on the left, coming inside and causing them real problems. He's been excellent when he's played and his attitude and application has to stay the same, to keep performing at that level.
"He's a young kid isn't he? In terms of the games he's played for us and the minutes he's played for us, I know Man United are absolutely over the moon with it. Because he is a good player, but he's still young, naïve and we still have to tactically tell him what to do and what not to do. His awareness and defending has got a lot better and it's a learning process for Alvaro. When he plays and performs the way he can, he's a very good player."
Fernandez offered so much on the pitch, but his popularity off it only strengthened the success of the loan move too. The Spaniard built up a wholesome bromance with fellow defender Bambo Diaby and the language barrier with his scouse boss was a comical challenge for the two to overcome.
At the stage Fernandez is at, the right career choices are absolutely vital and his first big one couldn't have gone much better on a personal note. Now, after shining in a tough, relentless and unforgiving league, he must hit the ground running in pre-season surrounded by bigger names and better players. Something tells us he won't be too fazed.
A Manchester Evening News special souvenir edition - Fergie's First - charts United's 1992/93 title-winning campaign and you can get your hands on one here
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