All of Southampton's pre-season friendly run-outs are now done, with the Saints' next fixture on the schedule a competitive showdown with Colchester United in the EFL Cup.
After this trip to Essex, it's the big opener versus Watford in the Championship, and it could be a race against time for the likes of Caspar Jander, Finn Azaz, and Tom Fellows to be fit for this tie at Vicarage Road, having missed out on the various pre-season games in Germany through injury.
Tonda Eckert will be praying that he has his full squad available to him soon, but he also has the transfer window to fall back on in adding in reinforcements if needed.
The main priority in the window looks to be adding in a fresh striker, with a hole in the German's squad still visible, ever since Ross Stewart heartbreakingly departed the St. Mary's ranks.
With Ben Brereton Diaz also on the move, the numbers up top aren't plentiful, but Eckert might not need to dip his toes into the market after all, with a reinvigorated Damion Downs at his disposal.
Downs could have a part to play
The expectation this summer, when pre-season first came onto the agenda, would've been that the £7m flop was going to be sold.
The ex-FC Koln attacker scored zero goals last season donning Saints red and white and looked out of his depth completely in the demanding Championship.
But, instead of being chucked without a care in the world being attached to the decision, he looks likely to stay put now to offer Eckert another striker option, next to Cyle Larin, with Downs scoring the winning goal recently in a 1-0 win versus Eintracht Braunschweig.
Downs turned on the style with his solo winner, and while another runout in Germany saw him sustain a back injury, he has done his chances of a surprise appearance against either Colchester, or the Hornets, the world of good by impressing this off-season.
It's not just Downs who could be welcomed in with open arms when predicting the first few competitive lineups, as the Saints remain without a new striker addition up top, with Cameron Archer potentially ready to sit tight and fight for his Southampton space, despite persistent talk linking him up with a move elsewhere in the EFL.
It's not just Downs who could surprisingly stay
Indeed, Archer has been tipped to return home to the Midlands this summer with West Bromwich Albion.
But, with the Baggies unable to match what the Saints want in terms of a fee, with Archer once costing the South Coast club a whopping £15m, it shouldn't be dismissed entirely that the ex-Aston Villa youngster could become a shock second-in-command figure to Larin that Eckert utilises.
After all, he does have red-hot goalscoring streak in him in the Championship, with 22 goals picked up from 70 second tier outings.
Like Downs, as well, he has scored this pre-season, with an effort registered in the final German clash against SC Preußen Münster.
As Southampton-based social media account SaintRob_ puts it, the number 19 has had a "decent pre-season" and, at this rate, shouldn't be sold, particularly if the club in question doesn't want to cough up an acceptable amount.
Eckert could even experiment with Archer as a winger, with the 24-year-old a versatile presence, when he isn't leading the line.
Ultimately, with Downs and his West Brom-linked counterpart breathing life back into their once stale Southampton stays with promising pre-season performances, there doesn't need to be such a hunger present to win a fresh summer recruit up top, but it remains to be seen whether a new face will enter the building between now and September's deadline.
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