Loïc Rémy remained on the wrong side of relevance last season, due to his constant injury woes, the emergence of young Bertrand Traoré as a viable first-team option and, not to forget, the loans of Radamel Falcao in the first half and Alexandre Pato in the second half of the season. Pato and Falcao have now returned to their parent clubs, once again bumping Rémy up a bit in the pecking order. He is very much involved in pre-season training, even seeing a few minutes in the 2-0 loss against Rapid Wien.
"It's good to be back and for me it's very important that I don't have any more injury problems this season."
"The preparation is very important for me, I feel really well so far but it's a long time since I played. Last year was very difficult for me because I had a lot of injuries, but this is a new page now. I hope to stay free from injuries and to have a better season."
"I feel very good. The preparations are very different to what we did last season and the one before. With the new staff we have been working very hard and even though the result against Rapid Vienna was disappointing I think we will win the next game."
Many pegged Rémy for a move away from the club the summer but akin to Victor Moses, he too plans to try and force his way into Conte's plans for the season.
"All the players want to be involved in the new project, the commitment is there and there is no reason for us not to be ready for the first game of the season."
Rémy also had a few words about Conte's training sessions, becoming the latest player to speak about their intensity and emphasis on tactics.
‘They are very intense sessions but at the same time you have to work on the basics.'
‘It's very tactical which is good for us, because as players you need to have direction and know what to do with and without the ball. It's been very tough but all the players are enjoying working with the new manager.'
‘We only came back to training at the start of last week but we have to improve in every area. ‘Now we have a game on Wednesday and it's important for us to get a win.'
- Loic Remy; source: Chelsea FC
A new manager coming in often means a clean slate for all the players, but with the signing of Michy Batshuayi and further rumours of striker purchases lingering, Rémy certainly has his work cut out for him to impress and convince. We had assumed that he'd be a lost cause and a goner for sure, but as long as whispers continue regarding Diego Costa's future, too, Rémy could yet have a role to play.