It is on July 2 that the first group of Chelsea players return to Cobham for pre-season. For many, those early training sessions will be solely about building up fitness ahead of the club's tour of the United States. Yet for several others, they provide a vital opportunity to impress Thomas Tuchel.
The Chelsea head coach will not have his full squad to work with during the first week of July; the majority of those players who've been away on international duty this month aren't set to report back until the Blues are in Los Angeles. So returning loanees and a handful of promising youngsters should be involved.
Some will feel more confident in catching Tuchel's eye than others. Yet there is strong evidence the German coach does not come into pre-season with preconceived notions about a player's ability or their position in the squad hierarchy. He judges them on what he sees.
