Chelsea’s players stepped onto the training pitch at Cobham on Monday as pre-season got underway.
New Blues head coach Enzo Maresca, 44, got his first opportunity to take charge of a training session with his squad.
The Italian manager is inheriting a talented young group at Stamford Bridge, which is certainly the biggest coaching role of his career so far.
- READ MORE: What Enzo Maresca was heard saying to Chelsea players in his first pre-season training session
Thiago Silva and Enzo Fernandez react as Reece James trains
Chelsea captain Reece James was among the group of players pictured out on the training pitches on Monday.
The 24-year-old right-back confirmed on social media he was back in training.
James wrote on an Instagram post: “Straight back to it! 2024/25 let’s go.”
He received a response in the comment section from Blues midfielder Enzo Fernandez, who’s currently away competing at the Copa America with Argentina.
Also, Thiago Silva may have left Chelsea this summer on a free transfer, but he’s still got an eye out on his former teammates.
Chelsea need their skipper fit and firing
Everyone knows how good James is when he’s on the football pitch, but the frequent injuries in the last few years is so frustrating both for him and the supporters.
The English defender played just 11 games across all competitions last season.
As for the 2022/23 campaign, he managed just 24 matches in total.
There’s a fantastic deputy at Chelsea in Malo Gusto for the right-back spot, but surely you want your captain and star player on the pitch as much as possible.
Let’s hope that James can enjoy a strong pre-season under Maresca that sets him up for next campaign. Admittedly, he’ll miss the opening three games of next season due to a suspension.
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