Wayne Rooney it seems is increasingly likely to join the ranks of United's tennage wonnders. Already, the precocious Ronaldo and classy Fletcher have carved out some level of permanence in the first team, and the addition of Rooney will only augur well for the long term prospects of the club.
The only way to erase the humbling experience of last season is to bounce back with a vengeance - and if Ferguson's trackrecord is anything to go by, Benitez, Mourinho and Wenger should be quakinig in their boots.
However, the time for a change of guard is looming. With Butt looking for a club to offer him first team football, and Neville looking like the obvious player to make way for Gabriel Heinze before the end of the season, it is time to see if the new guard is willing and ready to fight till the end.
In Liam Miller, we have possibly the long term replacement for Keane, although Djemba Djemba may beg to differ. I suspect the African's strength will augur well for his future, although a more economic use of the ball will surely aid his case. Perhaps even more ominous for him is the possibility of Steven Gerard making the trip to Old Trafford rather than the bright lights of London's Chelsea. His mutual admiration of Sir Alex is well documented and the prospect of playing for a real football club instead of just another expensive exhibit in the Abromovich playground may just nick it for the devils.
It is however the prospect of a Roo-Ro attack with Nistelrooy as the sharp end of a very deadly arrow that is causing a massive dose of excitement in the Red end of the Premier League - and we dun mean the cheap end :)