What a difference six months can make at Manchester United.
When Michael Carrick returned to Old Trafford in January, United were drifting towards another season of disappointment. By May, they had finished third in the Premier League and secured a return to the Champions League.
Now comes the hard part. United have strengthened again this summer and Carrick has had a full preseason to shape the squad in his image, but expectations have risen just as quickly as results did last season.
Can United go one better and challenge the Premier League's top two? How will they cope with Champions League football being added to the schedule? And which players could define their season?
ESPN makes its predictions for United's 2026-27 campaign.
Top scorer
Benjamin Sesko may be the recognised No. 9, but Bryan Mbeumo is my pick here.
Mbeumo scored five times after Carrick took charge, with four of those goals coming when he was deployed centrally rather than in his more familiar position on the right. Carrick has continued to use Mbeumo through the middle during preseason, including for his two-goal performance against Atlético Madrid.
After finishing as United's joint Premier League top scorer last season (with Sesko) with 11 goals -- compared with 20 in his final campaign at Brentford -- more time closer to goal could see his numbers rise significantly.
Breakout player
A £48 million player he might be, but how many people regard Andrey Santos as a star in this league? The Brazilian midfielder started just 13 Premier League games for Chelsea last season before his move, but after starting all preseason he has a chance to stamp his authority at United and form an underrated midfield pivot with Youri Tielemans -- though a move for Carlos Baleba might complicate that.
Other candidates are Ayden Heaven and Shea Lacey, and we'd opt for the latter here if Baleba does join as Heaven's minutes may be limited by Lisandro Martínez. Lacey is an incredible talent, so he could well light it up in cup competitions before potentially excelling in the league.
Who is it a make or break season for?
Few players enter the new season with more to prove at Manchester United than Marcus Rashford.
The 28-year-old is back at Old Trafford after spending the past 18 months away from the club, first on loan at Aston Villa before joining Barcelona. His time in Spain showed he still has plenty to offer -- Rashford scored eight goals and provided seven assists in LaLiga alone -- but Barcelona opted against making the move permanent.
That has given Rashford an unexpected second chance at the club where he came through the academy, and while Carrick has welcomed him back into the first-team fold, this may be his last opportunity to revive his United career.
He returns to a very different attacking picture, with Matheus Cunha and Mbeumo established after last season and Sesko leading the line, while Amad Diallo, Patrick Dorgu and even Lacey are in the mix in wide areas.
At his best, Rashford remains capable of adding pace, goals and a direct threat that few in Carrick's squad can replicate, and there could still be a left-wing spot there for the taking. The question this season is whether he can rediscover that level consistently at United. If he does, his unlikely return could become one of the stories of their season. If he doesn't, it is difficult to imagine there being another reset.
What would be a success?
Few could have expected United's season to end as successfully as it did when Carrick took charge, with the interim manager transforming their fortunes in the second half of the campaign. The challenge now is to show that remarkable turnaround can be sustained over a full season.
Another top-four finish would represent consolidation, but there is reason to aim higher. Manchester City don't look all that under Enzo Maresca (with admittedly little to go off), while Liverpool and Chelsea enter the season under new managers. If any of those teams stumble, a top-two finish could be there for United to grab, and ideally they'd remain part of the title conversation deep into the campaign.
A genuine title challenge might still be asking too much, but another top-three finish -- with second place potentially within reach -- and a competitive return to the Champions League, let's say reaching the quarterfinals, would represent another significant step forward.
Biggest concern?
United have been here before, and the experience of so many false dawns since Sir Alex Ferguson means fans should be wary of declaring another appointment a success too soon -- particularly with midweek European football to contend with this year.
Balancing the Champions League with a sustained Premier League challenge will test Carrick -- and the depth of his squad -- in a way that wasn't required during last season's resurgence.
There are notable vulnerabilities; United's midfield is all-new and could be a work in progress, while left-back is also a concern. Can Luke Shaw really play 50-60 games?
The luxury of more time on the training pitch and keeping key players fresh has gone. Carrick passed almost every test put in front of him during his first six months, but doing so while playing every three or four days will be a much tougher examination.
Prediction
There is enough quality in this United squad to believe last season's resurgence under Carrick can continue, with some of their biggest weakness addressed this summer. A title challenge still feels a step too far given the strength of the teams around -- some of whom have no midweek football to worry about, unlike United -- so I'll back them to finish fourth and make a deep run in one of the domestic cups.