Chelsea played their second of two behind-closed-doors friendlies on Thursday afternoon against League One side Bromley, and two fringe players staked their claim in front of Xabi Alonso.
The Blues have now been in pre-season training for a fortnight and began their campaign with a 3-1 win over Crawley last week. Both Jamie Gittens and Emmanuel Emegha scored then, as did Liam Delap.
With his best mate Morgan Rogers announced, how many goals and assists does Cole Palmer get this season?👀
Ahead of the club’s trip to Australia, when Xabi Alonso’s men take on Western Sydney Wanderers next Tuesday. But today, they faced League One side Crawley and Alonso watched on as Chelsea won 3-0.
A comfortable win against improved opposition, with Landon Emenalo starting the match. Youngsters Reggie Watson, Reggie Walsh and Mahdi Nicoli-Jazuli all came off the bench as per Nizaar Kinsella.
Gittens and Emegha stake their claim ahead of Australia trip
Both Gittens and Emegha scored against Crawley, and they did so against Bromley today. It comes after a disappointing season for both due to injury, with Gittens struggling with hamstring injuries during 25-26.
Emegha, meanwhile, failed to build on his excellent 2024-25 form at Strasbourg with the Dutchman suffering an injury. Yet, Emegha has arrived at Chelsea having been signed before suffering the injury.
Both players find their futures in doubt at Chelsea, yet both have scored goals in Chelsea’s two games so far this summer. Joao Pedro, perhaps unsurprisingly, got the other goal today in a comfortable 3-0 win.
Can Jamie Gittens finally turn £55m fee into money well spent?
Signed from Dortmund last summer, Gittens struggled in a Chelsea shirt. However, he remains a young player and if he can remain fit and avoid further hamstring injuries, then he can make good on his fee.
After Christopher Nkunku, Jamie Gittens and Timo Werner, how do you feel about Chelsea signing players from Germany? 🇩🇪
It’s whether he will get that chance. Alejandro Garnacho’s move to Aston Villa helps Gittens when it comes to game time, but the signing of Morgan Rogers hampers the former Dortmund man’s chances.
Rogers was pitched the left-wing role when he signed on at Chelsea. If Gittens is going to finally be a success at Chelsea, this trip to Australia is absolutely crucial for the Englishman this summer.
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