Chelsea were back at Cobham today, working hard ahead of tomorrow evening’s trip to the Hawthorns to take on West Bromwich Albion. Here are a few pictures from that session, but they’re at the end of the gallery. The main focus is instead on new man Édouard Mendy, who won’t yet be involved tomorrow.
Mendy has just arrived to London, having completed his medical in Germany (still not quite sure why it had to be done there instead of at Chelsea, and why that would make any difference regarding his quarantine status). While he says he’s fit to play, he hasn’t actually had a competitive match since keeping a clean sheet against Lille in the opening round of Ligue 1, over a month ago now.
So on his first day, like most of our new signings this summer, he’s worked out on his own with a trainer, though Mendy’s trainer wasn’t just anyone. Petr Čech himself put on some proverbial gloves and some actual training gear — trading rugby cap for glasses the only tip-off that he’s not actually still playing — to put Mendy through his paces. What a sight to see! (Čech is of course personally invested in seeing the new man succeed, having championed the 28-year-old’s signing. Let’s hope he’s correct!)