Enzo Maresca will soon add five players to strongest Chelsea squad for pre-season

Chelsea look set for a very different pre-season schedule to their Premier League rivals. The Blues have spent the last three weeks playing in the Club World Cup out in the United States with a semi-final clash against Fluminense to be contested in just a few days.

While the 19 other Premier League clubs have just returned for pre-season training having had the last month or so off, Chelsea have played five very intense games. With it coming right after a chaotic 2024/25 season, Maresca has been forced to rotate and some new signings have certainly helped that.

Mamadou Sarr, Dario Essugo and Liam Delap all arrived prior to the tournament starting with the latter starting the last four games due to Nicolas Jackson's suspension.

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Joao Pedro has helped take some of the load off with his cameo in the 2-1 quarter-final win against Palmeiras a positive sign of things to come.

During the celebrations of that triumph, new but unannounced signing Jamie Gittens was spotted on the pitch with Chelsea confirming his switch from Borussia Dortmund the following day. He cannot partake in the tournament though, having already represented the German club during the group stages.

He will be free to make his debut in friendlies against either Bayer Leverkusen or AC Milan though, with Chelsea set to play those two European clubs in early August just one week before their campaign starts at home to Crystal Palace.

By the time those two fixtures come around, a lot of changes in the Chelsea squad may have taken place. Joao Felix and Christopher Nkunku are available for transfer while Noni Madueke could also leave amid interest from Arsenal.

If departures for all three are sanctioned, another attacking signing is likely with West Ham's Mohammed Kudus as the No.1 target. He is currently in talks to join Tottenham though with the Hammers having already rejected an offer for his services.

Potential alternatives include Malick Fofana, Alejandro Garnacho and Kenan Yildiz with varying levels of interest from Stamford Bridge present for all three.

If Chelsea either choose against signing another winger or opt to stick with the options already available, the likes of Tyrique George and Estevao Willian, who scored against Chelsea for Palmerias, may be able to help. It is likely Maresca will take a closer look at the latter over the next few months.

There are other players on the fringes such as Andrey Santos, Josh Acheampong and Mathis Amougou that Maresca will also need to make a decision on with Chelsea's squad still quite bloated.

Though it is a short pre-season, Maresca will aim to make the most of it with at least five players set to feature in the squad that were not there in the last campaign.