Fringe players have really come to the fore in pre-season at Norwich City, as the Canaries bid to win a third Championship title in as many seasons at the level.
Dean Smith returns to the second tier just over three years after he took Aston Villa back to the Premier League via the play-offs, having previously excelled in the division with Brentford.
The Canaries begin their 2022/23 campaign on their travels at Cardiff City, with former Norwich striker Steve Morison taking on his former side from the Bluebirds' dugout.
Smith hinted towards some of the club's standout performers in pre-season when he spoke to The PinkUn.
He said: "Young Gibbo (Liam Gibbs) did well in pre-season.
"There is a lad who was part of the Under-23s group, who had an opportunity to come and train with us, and he has certainly come up in our thoughts.
"He has done really well.
"He has a calmness on the ball and a good range of passing.
"Jonathan Tomkinson was another of the young lads who impressed me.
"He is a very good centre back.
"We wanted players to put their hands up this summer and we got that.
"I knew Danel (Sinani) was a good player, but it was our first chance to have a look at him and he is someone myself and the coaching staff like.
"Jordan (Hugill) made his presence felt after coming back from loan with the goals he scored and Sam McCallum has done well.
"Onel (Hernandez) was really good at Hibs.
"He provided the one spark we had, and you know he has that threat because of his pace.
"He can deliver a cross."
The supporters and hierarchy at Norwich will be fully expecting another promotion tilt in the Championship, and having made such light work of the division in recent years it will be interesting to see how they get on in the absence of Daniel Farke and Emiliano Buendia.
The Verdict
The trip to the Welsh capital will be a very interesting examination of the Canaries' 2022/23 prospects.
The home crowd are well behind Morison in the dugout after pulling them away from the relegation conversation last term, and, despite not bolstering their forward line as yet, the Bluebirds have quietly brought in some very capable players for the level.
Cedric Kipre, Andy Rinomhota and Romaine Sawyers jump off of the list as smart additions, the former on loan from West Bromwich Albion and the latter two arriving on free transfers.
Though they lack the firepower going forward, the Bluebirds are more than capable of holding their own with the expectation on the visitors to come away with three points.