The start of the Premier League season is drawing closer and closer and with the culmination of Chelsea's pre-season tour of the USA, the Blues finally have a moment of pause at Cobham. Thomas Tuchel has less than two weeks to ensure his squad is up to pace in time for Everton and will be keen to do so.
There were few, if any winners from the trip across the Atlantic and a sense that Tuchel would like to see some players departing Stamford Bridge as well as arriving. With the move for Jules Kounde looking like it is about to end in the same way as Raphinha and Matthijs de Ligt, and any additions further up the pitch contingent on departures, opportunities could await those at Cobham this week.
Udinese await on Friday evening and transfer talk has turned to Denzel Dumfries, who Inter Milan rate at £40 million, and the possible departure of Timo Werner who has been linked to the likes of Newcastle and Juventus. Nothing appears imminent at the moment and with a period of uninterrupted training, it could well be the time to impress Tuchel.
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For some players it will be a more important period than others, football.london takes a look at who will be looking leave an impression over the next 10 days.
N'Golo Kante and Ruben Loftus-Cheek
The duo were unable to travel to the USA due to their vaccination status and instead spent time training first with Chelsea's under-23s and then the under-18s. The pair played 45 minutes against Boreham Wood but are likely going to be lacking in a first team environment given their teammates played three times during the pre-season tour.
They face competition to make the starting XI against Everton on the opening day and Conor Gallagher and Jorginho may be two of the players to come out of pre-season with some credit. Mateo Kovacic may be on the comeback from injury but was Chelsea's standout midfielder during 2021/22 and likely a front runner for the opening day if he is fit.
Competition is fierce for the central midfield role and each will have to ensure their fitness is at the required stage for Tuchel to put his trust in them after a far from ideal summer.
Levi Colwill
The former Huddersfield Town loanee has also had a disrupted summer due to injury and thus only featured against Charlotte FC during the Blues' US tour. Tuchel's words suggest Colwill has work to do in the remaining days but that there was also opportunity.
He said: "With Levi, it is too early to give an answer. What I will say now, I maybe have to take back or give another opinion in a few weeks, I simply haven’t seen enough of him in our group. He got a bit of an injury and was out of training for several days. Once you are out it takes a while to catch up against especially those who aren’t used to that level.
"The fact he is still here is very easy we don’t know him enough so he needs to stay here. We need more impressions of him to get a better outlook on the situation. But like what Chalobah did last season, everyone is invited to do the same."
The club have appeared intent on bolstering their defence but so far only Kalidou Koulibaly has come through the doors, and with the possibility that Dumfries is targeted ahead of a central defender in the coming days and weeks, it's perhaps an ideal opportunity for the 19-year-old to show his German coach exactly what he is made of.
Armando Broja
The striker enters a period where he may need to be convinced by Tuchel as much as the other way around. Having returned to London early due to injury, the Albania international's future still needs to be resolved for both parties. It is difficult to imagine a better opportunity for the 20-year-old to breakthrough at Stamford Bridge following Romelu Lukaku's departure this summer, but it's clear that Broja is hoping to continue his development with sustained minutes over the coming season.
Tuchel said: "We will make a decision together, the owners and me, and also in the end with the player. Right now, from when he arrived, it was clear that he tried to impress and become a Chelsea player as soon as possible. After his loan in Southampton, the situation was very clear that he wanted to make the next step and show his improvement and make an impression in pre-season.
"Unfortunately, he injured himself. There's a lot of noise because there are a lot of offers and interest in him. So let's see how this goes. But I am pretty calm about it. We know the situation. He has a contract and from there we go."
He added: "If there isn’t players like Armando who already play in Premier League it’s not enough just to train with the group. Sometimes very young players like Harvey in transition from youth football to Premier League football it can be OK for a year however you adapt to physicality and intensity in training but at some point you need games
"For players like Armando and players who already played in Premier League we have to look at situation carefully and decide if we have minutes we can offer to continue to bring his development or whether it is better to bring him to another loan."
It's clear more conversations will develop between players and coaches with Tuchel set to talk to the likes of Billy Gilmour and Harvey Vale, who departed the first team US tour to join up with the development squad. Broja will be among their number but in a bartering position that may see him higher up the first team rankings. With no goals from Kai Havertz in pre-season and the likely departure of Michy Batshuayi - a strong end to pre-season for Broja could make everyone's mind up.
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