Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is convinced he’s already added the X-factor to Manchester United’s attack - even before completing his summer rebuild.
The Norwegian plans to oversee a transformation in the club’s playing style after the heavily-criticised reigns of Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho.
Key to that will be a high-energy, front foot approach more in-line with the tactics employed by Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp at Manchester City and Liverpool.
Solskjaer intends to build his attack around the speed of Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and new signing Daniel James - promising to get supporters out of their seats.
He has been putting his players through rigorous double training sessions here in Perth to ensure there is no repeat of the alarming drop off experienced at the end of last season, which saw them win one of their last nine games. And the signings of the electric-paced James and Aaron Wan-Bissaka have been designed to inject speed into a side that has looked so laboured compared to Premier League rivals over the past six years.
“The two of them do have top, top speed,” said Solskjaer. “Modern football is stop-start, it is go again, speed, tempo, quality, so those two have put their marker down. Of course, with our boys, we have got some quick ones.
“The more X-factors you have in a team, the better you are. Any player who plays against, say, Rashford, Martial, Dan James, with the pace they have got, I think you are worried that they can hurt you - even if they have an off day.”
Solskjaer plans to add at least two more signings this summer, with Harry Maguire and Sean Longstaff leading targets.
But as well as bringing in new recruits, he is determined to improve the players he inherited from Mourinho, with fitness levels the area he is most determined to address.
United have come in for fierce criticism in recent seasons for their failure to play the high energy football that has been so successful for City and Liverpool, in particular.
Solskjaer paid the price for that as their season unravelled last term, following the spectacular bounce that accompanied his appointment as caretaker in December.
An initial run of 14 wins in 17 games was undermined by the collapse that followed, which saw United miss out on Champions League qualification for the third time in six years.
But the United manager is convinced the benefits will be felt after their pre-season work.
“They should feel tired, they should feel that they are gaining something from it,” he told the club’s website. “We are building fitness, robustness, mental robustness and it has been very encouraging. They have been great.
“Of course, we have also worked on a couple of new tactical approaches and ways that we think can benefit us this year.
“You want to get everyone through and you want to get there without any niggles, and losing three or four days.
“I have been part of it myself when you have stop-start pre-seasons, you don't really get your rhythm going. But it is a long season and if you get these six weeks in, then then the league starts and there are still three to four weeks there when we have only one game a week, so we can get some proper work done there as well. Then, let's see.
“I am sure that when the league starts we will be ready, sharp and fit enough.”
Despite Solskjaer’s drive towards emerging British players in James, Wan-Bissaka and Longstaff, insists he will not limit his business to domestic targets.
He added: “It doesn't matter if they are English, Norwegian, French, Brazilians, you just want good players, good people, quality and speed of course is a big thing in football nowadays.”
