Chelsea held an open training session at the state-of-the-art Kai Tak Stadium in Hong Kong on Tuesday, ahead of their pre-season clash against Juventus on Wednesday.
Xabi Alonso has welcomed back some of his World Cup stars, while Mykhailo Mudryk and new signing Danny Welbeck were also in attendance. Geovany Quenda has also flown out after a minor injury.
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The Blues have enjoyed wins over Crawley, Bromley and Western Sydney this summer, but suffered defeat to 10-man Tottenham, with Juventus up next. Below are six highlights from Tuesday’s open session.
Six moments from Chelsea’s open training session in Hong Kong
Elton John’s “I’m still standing” played for Mudryk on return
As the players jogged round the pitch to warm-up, Elton John’s ‘I’m Still Standing’ blurted out of the speakers with Mykhailo Mudryk’s smile about as big as the Kai Tak Stadium itself. A touching moment.
Chelsea are assessing Mudryk before deciding on his future, with plenty of clubs already said to be interested. Alonso underlined his delight at having Mudryk back from his ban ahead of training.
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Nicolas Jackson shows Xabi Alonso what he can do
Mudryk wasn’t the only player back in Chelsea training after a long time away from the Blues. Jackson was back at Chelsea after his loan at Bayern Munich, again with question marks surrounding his future.
But he showed what he can do during an attacking drill, with a brilliant near-post backheeled volley from a Pedro Neto cross. Tottenham are the latest club to show an interest in Jackson, as per The Mail.
Danny Welbeck with an immediate impact in an attacking drill
Jackson was not the only Chelsea striker to catch the eye. Danny Welbeck was over in Hong Kong and introducing himself to Chelsea fans, not for the first time, but for the first time as a Chelsea player.
Welbeck has been the author of much pain over the years at Stamford Bridge, whether it be for Arsenal, Man United, Sunderland or Brighton. He tapped home a close-range effort with his first touch.
Mike Penders shows his worth as battle for no.1 continues
Alonso is yet to name the goalkeeper that will start as first-choice next season, but now he finally has the two goalkeepers in contention in training. Penders is back after playing for Belgium at the World Cup.
Penders looks sharp. The goalkeeper was caught making three saves in the space of 30 seconds during an intense, small-pitch game. The first a close-range parry, the second a save to his side and then another.
Austin MacPhee pulls no punches in first set-piece session
Set-piece expert MacPhee has been lured to Chelsea from Aston Villa this summer, and the tactician has flown to Hong Kong to get started on improving the Blues from dead-ball situations. A real weakness.
The defence could not handle crosses into the box last season, costing Chelsea points throughout the season. McPhee was barking orders as if he had been a Chelsea coach for years, pulling no punches.
Cole Palmer spotted doing solo training after late entrance
One enormous positive during pre-season has been Cole Palmer’s renewed energy both on and off the pitch. He finished second in the bleep test, after his first summer off in three years. Now, a concern.
Palmer was spotted entering training late and doing work by himself. Not as worrying as missing the entire session, but clearly something was preventing Palmer from competing in Chelsea training.
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