Graham Potter and Chelsea are back in action on the training pitches of Cobham, and head out to Abu Dhabi for some warm weather training this weekend. While there they will face Aston Villa in a friendly as the World Cup wages on.
The Blues boss' focus will be firmly on the training pitches, along with his coaches who even took in and under-18 match on Tuesday but will have enjoyed some time resting before beginning to reflect. He may have even found some time to take in some World Cup action.
Chelsea certainly have no shortage of players in attendance at the tournament and had to fill out their first team training with under-21 stars. So, there will have been plenty to take notice of in Qatar, with Chelsea in mind.
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football.london takes a look at what the Blues may have learned.
Edouard Mendy and Kalidou Koulibaly vulnerability
The Chelsea duo impressively helped Senegal through to the knockout stages of the World Cup for the first time since 2002 and are set to face England in the last-16. Both certainly had their impressive moments with an incredible save by Mendy against Qatar and Koulibaly's impressive strike against Ecuador perhaps the standout moments.
However, while those of a Chelsea persuasion will be joyous for Senegal's stars, some less flattering moments may linger in the memory. Mendy's role in Netherlands' goals in their opening match of the tournament will have likely served a reminder that he is not an unquestionable No.1 for the west London side, while Koulibaly was caught out for Qatar's strike in the African side's second match.
The veteran defender has provided some impressive moments since joining but has not been far enough away from an air of vulnerability either and his position may come into question when the likes of Wesley Fofana return.
Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech prove point
On the other side, Pulisic and Ziyech have put down a marker to suggest they still have something to offer. The attackers have almost become fringe players for Chelsea, particularly Ziyech, but both have helped lead their teams to a surprising point.
The United States have already qualified for the last-16 with Pulisic netting the goal to get them though, although he picked up an injury in doing so, while Morocco remain in contention heading into their final match against Canada. Their performances may have given Potter pause for thought, though given Ziyech's inclination to move on in the summer, he may have simply proved himself worthy of a fee to someone like AC Milan.
Given Pulisic's impact in the closing weeks of the season, and that he has built on that in his starting role for the US, carrying on such momentum could seem him earn a valuable role in Potter's side given the American has had positive words about his coach despite being linked to a move himself.
Ousmane Dembele reminder
Not so much a reminder for Potter, given he was not at the club at the time, but it may be difficult for the World Cup not to act as a platform to reminder Chelsea's summer recruitment team that they did not land Ousmane Dembele.
The Blues were in conversations with Dembele's representitives with the Frenchman's Barcelona contract set to expire. However, like much of the summer, Barcelona beat the Blues to a signature and the former Borussia Dortmund winger ended up with a new contract at Camp Nou.
It's easy to ignore the star's La Liga form, though it seems to have continued in an impressive vein with five goals and seven assists across 20 appearances for the league leaders. The World Cup has provided the platform for Dembele to earn his first international start in more than a year.
The 25-year-old wasted little time providing an assist in a win against Australia while continuing to look a threat against Denmark. Dembele was the rested versus Tunisia with France already qualified, signalling quite a transformation for a player who only earned 11 minutes for Les Bleus in 2022.
With signings like Raheem Sterling and the potential of landing Christopher Nkunku in the future, it may not be a signature Chelsea regret not landing, but seeing him produce may still twinge a little.
Injury risks for future plans
Speaking of Nkunku, the RB Leipzig player was sadly robbed of his World Cup. The midfielder sprained his knee in the days before the Qatar tournament, picking up the injury in training. With Chelsea putting plans in place early for the summer of 2023, they have already made a pre-contract agreement with French star.
While the injury should only keep Nkunku out for as many as 10 weeks it will have reminded Chelsea not to place all of their eggs in one basket amid talk of the deal progressing further.
Impressive Josko Gvardiol
The World Cup break will have also allowed the Blues to put their transfer strategy in place. With the arrival of the likes of Paul Winstanley and a greater freedom of schedule for Potter to work efficiently with the likes of Kyle Macaulay for plans heading into January in beyond.
Gvardiol has been one of Chelsea's longer term targets having failed to agree a deal in the summer. However, with a release clause set to come into play in the summer the Blues will be sure to have watched the 20-year-old closely ahead of any further transfer interest they may have.
The Croatia star has started the tournament well, cutting quite the imposing figure with his face masked as he recovers from a broken nose he suffered in early November. His next test will likely be against Romelu Lukaku, and that will provide a strong opportunity for the defender to convince Chelsea of his talents once again.
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