In just over a fortnight's time, Manchester United's first-team will walk out at Old Trafford to take on Arsenal in the first game of their 2025/26 season.
A fixture that was once a war between the two best teams in the English top-flight has lost its lustre in recent times, but as season openers go it couldn't really get any better.
Changes needed at the Theatre of Dreams
The Theatre of Dreams will be packed to the rafters and the vast majority of the 75,000 crammed into the stands will be expecting a home win.
After the debacle of last season Ruben Amorim made it quite clear that there would be changes about the place before a ball was kicked in anger in the new season, however, here we are with United already deep into their pre-season and fans will be worried about the lack of movement in the transfer market.
The Portuguese has always stuck to his guns when asked about his tactics and preferred system, and it soon became obvious that certain players just didn't fit into it.
Others weren't Amorim's cup of tea, but only Marcus Rashford has managed to exit the club this summer.
With it believed that Alejandro Garnacho, Antony, Jadon Sancho and Tyrell Malacia have all been told to find new clubs by the coach, Amorim runs the risk of beginning the season with a quartet of players he no longer requires.
What's worse is that a perceived spending spree to bring in new faces hasn't really got going either.
Gyokeres will line up against his former manager
Matheus Cunha was first through the door, signing from Wolverhampton Wanderers for £62.5m, and he was soon followed by Brentford's Bryan Mbeumo for £71m. Throw in 18-year-old full-back Diego Leon, and that's the sum total of United's business this summer.
Whilst no one doubts the Premier League credentials of either Cunha or Mbeumo, neither could be said to be the 'superstar' signings that United should be targeting, with respect.
As if to ram home the point as to just how much the Red Devils have been dragging their heels in certain aspects, long-time Amorim target, Viktor Gyokeres, has signed for Arsenal and will line up against his former manager on the opening day.
The Swedish striker, who had been on fire in the Portuguese league over the past couple of years, would've been an ideal addition to United's front line.
Any interest in Ipswich Town's Liam Delap evaporated when he signed for Chelsea and indeed, Amorim is still looking for his preferred target man as it would appear he doesn't rate either Rasmus Hojlund or Joshua Zirkzee to do that job.
It all points to more disorganisation behind the scenes and throws open the prospect that the club will start the season if not in disarray, then not too far from it.
Potential recipe for disaster
A coach without the players he wants in situ, and forced to play those he doesn't want or rate... It's a recipe for disaster.
Suggestions that either RB Leipzig's Benjamin Sesko or Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins are now being targeted don't appear to be without foundation, but what are their numbers like and who might be better suited to the role?
Watkins isn't really a target man as such, but is adept at running in behind or playing off the shoulder of the last defender. Importantly, he is an experienced front man with Premier League pedigree, though he will be 30 by the end of this year.
Sesko has been the main man for Leipzig in front of goal and has only just turned 22 years of age. The question mark that lingers is whether he can transfer his output from the Bundesliga to the supposed 'best league in the world.'
Over the past two seasons, Sesko has scored 33 goals and provided eight assists in 71 matches in all competitions, with Watkins bagging an impressive 54 goals and 27 assists, albeit by playing 46 more games in the same time frame.
As might be expected, the Slovenian has scored nine of those with his head, but Watkins has 14.
Both players have an identical 43.9% stat for shots on target, with Watkins just shading the shot conversion accuracy (21.9% to 19.7%).
Age over experience or vice-versa?
There's a difficulty too in comparing the pair like-for-like because the England man has effectively played an extra season's worth of fixtures compared to Sesko, and a final decision may not only come down to age over experience or vice-versa, but what else either player brings to the party.
Sesko's pass completion rate has never gone above 68.3% whilst Watkins' lowest in the past two seasons has been 69.9%, and has gone as high as 95.5%.
The Villa man's 1002 contested one-on-one duels is almost double that of Sesko's 540, however, it's the latter that has a better win percentage and a far, far better win rate with regards to headed duels.
United's board and Amorim can't afford to get it wrong in the market again, so their next purchase needs to be well thought out and everything considered before making a final decision.
There are pluses and minuses to both signings and the sooner the choice has been made, the better for all concerned.
#Jason Pettigrove