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Revealed: When Chelsea players will return to Cobham to begin pre-season under Mauricio Pochettino
Chelsea are preparing to welcome back their first-team squad next week when pre-season begins ahead of the 2023/24 campaign.
Mauricio Pochettino, who will officially begin on July 1 after signing an initial two-year contract to become the club’s head coach, will meet his squad for the first time as they begin preparations for next season.
Chelsea will be hoping to put the 2022/23 campaign firmly behind them after a challenging and difficult season, which saw them finish 12th in the Premier League.
Many players won’t return to their Cobham training ground when pre-season commences. N’Golo Kante and Kalidou Koulibaly have already departed, while Kai Havertz, Mateo Kovacic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Hakim Ziyech and Edouard Mendy are all expected to complete their transfers away from Chelsea ahead of the return.
Meanwhile, Mason Mount is ready to report back for duty despite being the subject of three rejected bids from Manchester United.
But when will Chelsea return to pre-season training?
As reported by Matt Law of the Daily Telegraph, members of the squad are due to start returning next Tuesday (July 4), with those who have been representing their countries getting extra time off.
What is Chelsea’s pre-season plan?
Pochettino will get to work with his squad for the first time and his plans for when the players have already been revealed.
Nizaar Kinsella of the Evening Standard stated that Chelsea will hold a team meeting on the first day back, which will then see the initial group return to the grass the following day to begin the work.
Who are Chelsea playing in pre-season?
Chelsea will fly out to the United States for a pre-season tour of the US. Pochettino’s side will play five matches against Wrexham, Brighton & Hove Albion, Newcastle United, Fulham and Borussia Dortmund.
They will then return to England in August to complete their final preparations ahead of their opening Premier League fixture of the 2023/24 campaign against Liverpool on Sunday 13th August at Stamford Bridge.