Everyone is here!
Except one.
That one is of course Thibaut Courtois, who’s remained in Belgium for now (NOT Tenerife) but would very much like to be in Madrid, which probably will happen before the end of the month (when the Spanish transfer window shuts). The only real question there is who will Chelsea manage to sign, if anybody, as replacement.
But the more professional members of the squad — i.e. everyone else except those who started the Community Shield — were back at Cobham on Monday, with five new faces joining in on the hard work as we hurtle towards the start of the season. Eden Hazard, N’Golo Kanté, Olivier Giroud (short, not shaved hair and all), Michy Batshuayi, and Captain Gary Cahill all got their first taste of Sarrismo, and they will have to be quick learners.
Here are a few pictures from their first day. Could some of them feature in today’s poorly timed friendly against Lyon? Unlikely. But welcome back, everyone! Time to work work work work.
(Bonus shout-out to Kurt Zouma, looking fit, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, looking not on loan.)