Five things spotted in Chelsea training as Cole Palmer behaviour speaks volumes
Xabi Alonso will be determined to hit the ground running when he debuts as Chelsea manager on Tuesday.
Cole Palmer in open Chelsea training at the Allianz Stadium in Sydney, Australia(Image: Photo by Ayush Kumar/Getty Images)
Xabi Alonso led the first Chelsea training session of the pre-season summer tour at the Allianz Stadium in Sydney, Australia, on Sunday morning. Shortly after touching down in New South Wales and getting a good night’s sleep, the Blues manager put the players through their paces in front of nearly 5,000 supporters.
After a couple of behind-closed-door friendlies on home soil, Alonso will debut as Chelsea manager when his side lock horns with Western Sydney Wanderers at the Accor Stadium on Tuesday, July 28. The Blues will face Tottenham Hotspur at the same venue on Saturday, August 1.
Chelsea will play Juventus at the Kai Tak Stadium in Hong Kong on Wednesday, August 5, before jetting off to Indonesia to play AC Milan at the GBK Stadium in Jakarta on Saturday, August 8. The next day, the Blues will wrap up the tour with a clash against Johor Darul Ta’zim at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Iskandar Puteri, Malaysia.
Alonso will then lead his side out in front of a home crowd at Stamford Bridge for the very first time when Chelsea host Real Sociedad on Saturday, August 15. Over the next three weeks or so, the Spaniard will step up preparations for the new season as he looks to get his hands on some silverware and qualify for the Champions League.
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Although the Blues are still in the early stages of pre-season, Alonso has already dropped a few clues as to how he plans to attack the campaign. So, with that being said, football.london has looked at the five things you may have missed in open training at the Allianz Stadium in Sydney, Australia.
Palmer and Tosin in good spirits
Cole Palmer and Tosin Adarabioyo were in good spirits as Levi Colwill led the Chelsea squad onto the pitch at the Allianz Stadium. The duo, who have grown to become close friends over the last year or so, shared a joke before getting down to business.
Clearly relaxed and well-rested after being left out of the England squad for the World Cup by Thomas Tuchel, his behaviour spoke volumes. Palmer struggled to shake a groin problem last term, so Alonso will hope he’s now overcome the problem and is back to his best.
Alonso takes hands-on approach
Alonso and his coaching staff took a hands-on approach to training, assisting the players with their warm-up. The Chelsea manager was spotted working particularly closely with Omari Kellyman, who was a late call-up after Geovany Quenda suffered a knock, and Landon Emenalo.
The latter was the only non-senior Cobham graduate to start each of the Blues’ behind-closed-door friendlies against Crawley Town and Bromley before the summer tour down under. football.london understands that, at the end of last month, Chelsea opened talks with Rayo Vallecano in an effort to sign Pep Chavarria.
The 28-year-old defender, who has four years remaining on his contract at Vallecas Stadium in Madrid, was mooted as a potential replacement for Marc Cucurella, but the Blues are yet to secure his signature. As it stands, it remains unclear whether Chelsea will push to sign Chavarría, with Emenalo appearing to make a good impression.
Estevao catches the eye
Estevao Willian caught the eye in training, combining nicely with Alonso during a cross-and-shoot drill. The Chelsea winger suffered a grade-four hamstring injury during a defeat to Manchester United back in April, and subsequently missed out on the chance to represent Brazil at the World Cup.
Despite fears that Estevao could require surgery and miss the start of the season, he seems to have overcome the muscle problem. Alonso will need to carefully manage the 19-year-old’s workload during the pre-season tour.
Fans travel to see Chelsea wonderkid
Dastan Satpayev drew quite a following at the Allianz Stadium, with lots of Kazakhstan flags and Kairat shirts in attendance. The striker, whom Chelsea signed for less than £3m at the start of last year, turns 18 next month and could become the first Kazakhstani to play in the Premier League.
Forgotten Chelsea star acclimatises to weather
Aaron Anselmino had to acclimatise to the mild weather at the Allianz Stadium. The Chelsea defender, who spent last season on loan, the first half being at Borussia Dortmund and the second at Strasbourg, was one of many to wear a base layer under his training top.
Shortly after taking to the field, Anselmino was spotted gesturing to Marco Palestra that he was a bit chilly. Unless, of course, the Argentine just wanted to practice his best impression of Palmer’s celebration to the new Blues signing!
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