Mauricio Pochettino on the team readiness after the return of stars – Three things learned from training at Chelsea

Mauricio Pochettino on the team readiness after the return of stars – Three things learned from training at Chelsea

Chelsea continue pre-season preparations under Mauricio Pochettino before embarking on tour of USA where they will play against Wrexham, Newcastle, Fulham, Brighton and Borussia Dortmund

Chelsea are just days away from flying to the United States to kick off their training programme. The Blues will face Wrexham in North Carolina in six days and the plans will be formulated by Mauricio Pochettino, who is now in charge for about 10 days.

The Blues will see their international stars return to the pack with Nicolas Jackson training in Cobham for the first time earlier this week, while Kepa Arrizabalaga, Ethan Ampadu, Wesley Fofana and Conor Gallagher are all back. New signing Diego Moreira, who played for Portugal’s youth team at the Under-20 World Cup, has also now arrived to be photographed in Chelsea’s new kit and featured in the first-team squad on the club’s website.
The Blues have re-released snippets of their sessions and football.london has looked into what happened.

Ethan Ampadu trains with the first team

The Welsh star entered the final year of his Chelsea contract and after a string of loans at Spezia, Venezia and Sheffield United following a difficult spell at RB Leipzig it looked like this could be the pinnacle of his time with the Blues. Ampadu is now 22 and will no doubt be looking to secure a first-team squad, but he could see another summer of him spending time with the Blues.

Ampadu has spent the last two days with the rest of the Blues first team, unlike Callum Hudson-Odoi. The latter is due to leave the club this summer and has been training separately from those expected to take part this summer and beyond.
Pochettino is short of experienced central midfielders following the departures of N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, while Enzo Fernandez has yet to return to training. Ampadu’s fitness could be relied upon in the early stages of the summer and the possibility of a US tour spot, as things stand, appears to remain viable.

Chelsea have many goalkeepers

While Kepa returns to Cobham as Chelsea’s clear number 1 following the departure of Edouard Mendy, a number of players have been involved in recent days under the watchful eye of Toni Jiminez. The Blues have a youthful cohort of shooters alongside Kepa and Marcus Bettinelli, while Chelsea have not confirmed a permanent goalkeeper for their side going forward.

Eddie Beach, Ted Curd, Lucas Bergstrom and Jamie Cumming have all attended the sessions so far, while Gabriel Slonina has just completed his Gold Cup campaign with the USA. The Blues also have youngsters Max Merrick, Luke Campbell and Kai Crampton on their books, although they are not currently pictured with the first team. With England’s minor leagues kicking off in the coming weeks, it wouldn’t be a surprise if one or two of those goalkeepers earned a loan from the club after Teddy Sharman-Lowe had already joined Bromley.

New young people involved

The likes of Cesare Casadei, Bashir Humphreys, Andrey Santos, Ian Maatsen and Lewis Hall have long featured in Pochettino sessions since the arrival of the former Spurs manager. So do the likes of Omari Hutchinson, who hasn’t appeared in the latest released images, while Ronnie Stutter and Mason Burstow appear to have earned their first chances. Perhaps an indication for a loan might be Hutchinson’s hand after coming close last summer and in January.

READ ALSO…

Newly signed Mason Mount admits he wants to bring something from Chelsea to Manchester United

The England international joined the Blues aged six and was adored by many Chelsea fans until his final moments at Stamford Bridge.
Now that he has joined United, Mount said he wants to forge a new relationship with the Red Devils fan base, widely regarded as one of the best in the world.

Mason Mount was a fan favorite at Chelsea before joining Manchester United and would love to develop a similar relationship with Old Trafford fans.

However, the new No.7 is also aware of the difficulties United fans will have in bonding with a player coming from an opposing team and stresses that he needs to prove himself before that relationship can flourish.
“It means a lot to me to be able to have that connection with the fans,” he said. “First I have to show them what I can do and prove why I’m here, and then hopefully we can have that good bond and celebrate a lot of good times together.”

“I’ve had the experience of playing there (Old Trafford) as the away team and it’s so tough. You don’t just play against the team, you also play against the fans and they always stand behind the team and sing the songs. It’s a theater to come and play, it’s amazing and you always look forward to it.
Now of course I’m wearing my home kit and I can’t wait to go there, those Champions League nights will be special.”

Mount’s last encounter at the Theater of Dreams was in a 1-1 draw last season, where he fell out with new teammate Lisandro Martinez after a fierce challenge from the Argentine.
United fans fell in love with the player nicknamed “The Butcher” for his qualities on the pitch, as well as his energy and fighting spirit. Mount will be able to offer similar traits if he is to win the fan base.

“I want to thank you (the fans),” she added. “I can’t wait to play for everyone and as I said before, so many good times together. It’s such a special club, I can’t wait to get started and play at Old Trafford.”

ALSO READ…

Moises Caicedo has pledged a Chelsea transfer after an £80million threat to Liverpool

Moises Caicedo transfer news: Chelsea have received a huge boost with news that the player is determined to move to the Blues

Chelsea appear to have received a crucial update in their hunt for Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo.

The 21-year-old has been at the center of a transfer story since he expressed his desire to leave the Seagulls in January. Caicedo looked set to be bound for Arsenal at the start of the year but the Blues have since joined the Gunners in the race to sign the …

To be continued…