A new era is being ushered in at Old Trafford, an era that, one hopes from a Manchester United point of view, will be full of trophies and moments of pure ecstacy, and the new boss Jose Mourinho has promised fans that they will be aiming for the top prize, the Premier League title.
First Season targets
It's been three years since United has tasted success in the Premier League, two manager's have come and gone at the Theatre of Dreams, neither able to deliver on their targets unfortunately.
David Moyes and Louis Van Gaal were decent managers, but were ultimately unsuccessful at United. However, Jose has been clear with his target for this season, he has shown his desire to win the title in his first year. "I want to be champion," said Mourinho, who has ruled out simply challenging for a top-four position, saying that "We want to play to be champions".
Mourinho has a proven track record of winning titles everywhere he's been, but in this coming season he will probably find tough competition from each and every team this season, the quality of managers in the league now is better than ever and Jose will definitely try to win each and every tactical battle he's presented with.
Much-needed quality is now there
Just like other teams, Manchester United have strengthened greatly in attacking as well as defensive quality, with the signings of the likes of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and also of course Eric Bailly, the young Ivorian looking to make a mark in England after assured displays for Villarreal in their La Liga campaign.
The additions of Zlatan as well as Mkhitaryan have added a much greater attacking force to United, one that will certainly give other defences a lot of problems this year, with the likes of Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard looking to learn from senior figures and quality players, Ibrahimovic will definitely provide the needed inspiration for these players.
Young defender Timothy Fosu-Mensah looks like a good bet for a first team place this year and he will be hoping that he can squeeze himself into Jose's plans for the team this year. In terms of midfield, United look much better now with the signing of Mkhitaryan and it will be certainly be a delight to see him linking up with the likes of Ander Herrera, Wanye Rooney and Juan Mata in midfield for United.
There has been concrete talk of a move for Paul Pogba, with Manchester United looking like the only ones to be in the running for the Frenchman with formal negotiations undergoing currently between the player's agent Mino Raiola and the club. His arrival at the club will certainly be a huge signal of intent from the club and the manager. Rio Ferdinand voiced his support in the move for Pogba and welcomed the Portuguese to the club, who has made it clear that he wants to make his 4th signing as soon as possible.
In terms of challenges, this could be Jose's biggest in his career and one that he looks positive about and is confident of delivering on his promises, one can only hope that the former Porto, Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Chelsea manager can repeat his title winning achievements with his past clubs and bring Manchester United back to their glory days of winning titles.