When Chelsea start pre-season under Mauricio Pochettino and who will be there

The countdown to Mauricio Pochettino’s first day as Chelsea manager is on and barely two weeks before the first team returns for pre-season, so many changes are already taking place at Cobham.

Chelsea endured their worst Premier League campaign in almost 30 years last time out, finishing in 12th and desperately looking for a way back under Pochettino.

The former Tottenham manager has the experience and pedigree to turn this around and he’s backed by long-time assistants Jesus Perez, Toni Jimenez, Miguel D’Agostino, and Sebastiano Pochettino - the new technical team is primed to roll their sleeves and get to work.

First day at work

Pochettino starts work on the 1st of July but the first team does not return until the 3rd when the new boss gets to meet some of the early returners for the first time.

That is expected to be a light meeting between the players who will report on the first day before the hard running starts on the 4th of July.

Chelsea are then expected to stay at Cobham for the next two weeks and will only fly out to the United States after intensive days of hard running in the sun at Cobham.

The Blues will then take on Welsh side Wrexham upon arrival in North Carolina. Then the marathon of games kicks in against Fulham, Newcastle, and Brighton and Hove Albion in the Premier League’s first-ever summer series in the States.

The Blues are expected to wrap up their pre-season games in the USA against German side Dortmund, with Pochettino at that time expected to have developed a style of play and drilled into players some of his ideas while building incredible fitness.

Players likely to be there

A large number of the team are expected to be the team by the time the second week of pre-season starts, but with so many players linked with an exit, the future of some of the stars is not expected to be sorted until deep into the transfer window.

One positive news is that Armando Broja is expected to return, the striker has not played for Chelsea since injuring his knee in a friendly against Aston Villa last December and watched on helplessly as the Blues crashed to an all-time low last season. He’s in the final stage of his recovery and is expected to be ready for the start of the new campaign.

Also returning with be Callum Hudson Odoi who endured a forgettable loan spell at Leverkusen last time out, while there will be no N’Golo Kante who has finalised his move to Saudi Arabia.

The Blues have also announced the signing of French star Christopher Nkunku who is expected to add goals to a team that struggled to finish last season.

The French forward has been a breath of fresh air in Germany and his arrival instantly injects power and competition in a team that desperately needs uplifting.