Chelsea's first stars are in pre-season treason as Mauricio Pochettino well into his first week in the cut and thrust of watching over the Blues. The former Spurs boss officially took charge of the team on July 1 before seeing his first proper day take place on Monday with a hole host of media duties and even a barbecue.
Pochettino has a smaller group after Chelsea saw N'Golo Kante, Edouard Mendy, Kalidou Koulibaly, Mateo Kovacic, Kai Havertz and Mason Mount all depart the club, but also an array of players have yet to return for pre-season training. The likes of Noni Madueke and Levi Colwill remain in the under-21 European Championships, while those involved in senior international football have an extended period away before meeting Pochettino for the first time.
That is the case most seasons and it can play a big role in team selections for an opening friendly. Last season for example, Thomas Tuchel utilised eight players in his starting XI who had appeared in training earliest, with Thiago Silva, Conor allagher and Kai Havertz the only internationals to start against Club America.
