Chelsea have been carrying out sessions at their Cobham training ground in preparation for their Premier League curtain-raiser against Fulham on Monday evening.
Following the friendly defeat of Real Sociedad on Saturday afternoon, Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso revealed his squad had only five training days to ready themselves for his first top-flight managerial encounter against Fulham on Monday night.
The serious portion of the campaign is set to commence for Alonso and his Chelsea squad, though prior to the visit to Craven Cottage, they will complete their final preparations. The first-team group completed a session on Tuesday under the relatively gentler Surrey sunshine, with the fifth heatwave of the British summer now concluded.
With that context established, football.london examines the most recent training photographs published by the club and identifies notable observations from Cobham.
Fernandez’s serious expression
Enzo Fernandez did not appear particularly happy in one of the photographs published by Chelsea. The Argentine was evidently part of the victorious side in one of the exercises arranged by Alonso and his coaching team, alongside players such as Levi Colwill, Jamie Gittins, Marco Palestra, Joao Pedro, Cole Palmer, Robert Sanchez, Josh Acheampong and Malo Gusto.
Fernandez appeared the most serious among the group. From an external viewpoint, it may have been a jest or an attempt to appear indifferent, though it attracted attention from some online users due to the ongoing speculation surrounding his future at Stamford Bridge.
This could amount to very little, naturally, and could simply be a bit of fun from Fernandez. There are additional images, not from this particular session, where the Argentine midfielder has been grinning alongside his Chelsea teammates at Cobham.
Regardless, the coming days promise to be compelling in the Fernandez situation. Chelsea gave Manchester City a deadline last Friday to meet their £120million valuation. Had City produced that sum before 5pm on Friday, the Blues would have conducted business with their Premier League rivals. However, City now face a considerably harder challenge.
Alonso is keen to retain him within the squad for the new season. There is no question that Alonso’s pre-match press conference on Thursday (1:30pm UK time) will be filled with queries regarding Fernandez and his situation.
The 10 Chelsea players absent from training
Before detailing the 10 Chelsea players absent from Tuesday’s session, it should be noted the club only publish a limited number of photographs, so they may have participated in some capacity.
Mamadou Sarr, Tosin Adarabioyo, Axel Disasi, Jordan Henderson, Mykhailo Mudryk, Nicolas Jackson, Liam Delap, Emmanuel Emegha, Marc Guiu and Danny Welbeck were all not featured. Significantly, none of these individuals were part of Chelsea’s matchday squad for the victory over Real Sociedad on Saturday afternoon.
Emegha and Henderson’s absences are probably related to fitness. The former missed the club’s pre-season tour due to a hamstring problem but was seen training last week. The latter sustained a serious arm injury during England’s World Cup campaign but was also on the grass at Cobham ahead of Chelsea’s friendly triumph over La Real.
The reason for Welbeck’s absence remains unclear and information will likely emerge from Alonso on Thursday afternoon, though one would assume it relates to fitness given his involvement during the club’s tour. The remaining players being omitted could be connected to speculation over their Chelsea futures.
Chelsea are aiming to arrange a loan move for Sarr, preferably within the Premier League. Tosin is available for purchase, as are Disasi, Jackson, Delap and Guiu. Mudryk is scheduled for a loan spell, though the destination has not yet been finalised.