Leicester City fans don't have long to wait until the League One fixtures are released for the coming 2026/27 season.
Indeed, the date that the Foxes fans will be waiting for to learn their opening matches is June 25th.
Before then, you would imagine Leicester's brand-new manager for this third-tier campaign would be announced, with everything pointing in the direction that Russell Martin will be their next chosen head coach.
We are only a matter of days away from the transfer window officially reopening, too, with Harry Winks likely to head for the exit door.
The expectation that Winks will leave
Winks would've been viewed as a coup signing once upon a time at the King Power.
Before moving to Leicester, the 30-year-old had been capped by the England senior team, and he had lined up for Tottenham Hotspur 206 times, with Champions League minutes regularly handed to him.
Three seasons into his stay at Leicester, though, the general feeling is he is a stale relic who needs to be moved on, with the experienced holding midfielder downing his tools last season when times wre tough.
Clashing with fans, too, as the Foxes stared down the barrel of back-to-back relegations, he's hardly going to want to bust a gut for the team in League One next season.
Yet, if Martin is announced as Gary Rowett's successor, as expected, there could be a crazy change of circumstances where Winks is kept on, and he thrives.
Could Martin keep him around?
Realistically, the one-time Spurs midfielder would have to take a significant pay cut if he were to stay on the books of the Foxes, as it's reported he currently earns a high £45k-per-week wage.
He could be willing to take a slight hit to his salary if Martin was able to reinvigorate his playing days, with the style of football that the 40-year-old favours potentially getting the best out of the former England international again.
It's no great secret that Martin is a manager who loves a possession-heavy style, with the promotion-winning manager openly stating that he wants his teams to "dominate the ball as much as we can" when he was first unveiled as Southampton's new boss in 2023.
Winks might not be in the good books with a lot of Leicester fans right now due to his petulant outbursts, but it's undeniable that the 30-year-old is a smooth operator with the ball at his feet, when he lets his football do the talking.
Last campaign, even with relegation hitting hard, the Foxes' number eight would end the season with a stellar 90% pass accuracy averaged across 34 league outings.
Enzo Maresca loved working alongside Winks when he was in the Leicester hot seat, with the Italian noting that he was "one of the most important players" in allowing his own possession-dominant team to tick.
Only missing one league game during the 2023/24 season as the Foxes were crowned champions, Martin would be content with the idea of using Winks as an equally calm orchestrator in his own promotion mission.
Martin would just want Winks to be more forward-thinking, instead of playing simple passes for the sake of it, as the experienced midfielder potentially redeems himself by dictating play in League One, leading to promotion being instantly sealed.
It does seem a little far-fetched, as the number eight will surely be itching for a move to a more luxurious division, with Wrexham previously keen.
But, don't rule anything out, as Martin's appointment might just make him stick it out.
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