Pre-season has given the Chelsea stars on the fringes a fantastic opportunity to flourish and find some kind of form.
Thomas Tuchel had a wash of new faces arrive at Cobham after the brief break in play from domestic action.
Whilst several of his squad were away on international duty, the Blues boss was able to have a good inspection of those returning from loan spells or academy products.
He was also allowed time to work with the first-teamers who may not have found life so straightforward last year.
Their audition: four friendly fixtures before the competitive campaign kicks off.
But who will have impressed Tuchel the most during this trial period?
Here are three players we believe have broken through into the Chelsea manager’s glass palace:
Trevoh Chalobah
Before a ball had even been kicked last month, Trevoh Chalobah would have been written off by most of the Blues contingent.
Perhaps rightly so.
The 22-year-old did well in a struggling Lorient side, but it seemed unlikely he’d done enough to warrant an instant Stamford Bridge recall.
Places in Chelsea’s midfield were set to be heavily contested, with the youngster arguably last in the running.
Yet, Tuchel had a plan for Chalobah to change all that.
Why not try him out in defence instead?
Against Bournemouth, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, he featured as part of a back-three.
He started both clashes with the London rivals, earning rave reviews from Blues fans on social media and from his gaffer.
Chelsea are still being linked with Jules Kounde, but could Chalobah be the cheaper alternative already on their doorstep? We think so.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek
Upon mention of the race for midfield slots, Ruben Loftus-Cheek was always going to be in the hunt.
Although his loan spell at Fulham wasn’t groundbreaking, it provided the Englishmen a good platform to regain fitness and confidence.
He is one of the few returnees that Tuchel mentioned whilst managing the first team last season.
“He (Loftus-Cheek) reminded me of Michael Ballack in his style of play, his movements,” said the Chelsea boss in April.
So, the pressure was already on for Loftus-Cheek to perform in the lead up to the 2021/22 term.
Granted, he did not set the world alight across the quartet of games.
This being said, there was enough evidence to suggest the 25-year-old will add to Chelsea’s squad.
Tuchel selected him over Ross Barkley and Danny Drinkwater for yesterday’s draw with Tottenham, which should speak for itself.
Hakim Ziyech
Yes, Hakim Ziyech was already a member of the senior set-up, but can we really say he was part of the master plan?
After Tuchel’s arrival in January, the Moroccan started just eight out of a possible 19 Premier League matches.
In that same period, he only played 122 minutes of Champions League football and was an unused substitute in the final.
Therefore, Ziyech had a point to prove more than anyone in pre-season.
He certainly set out his stall with some strong performances over the past four weeks.
The 27-year-old looked sharp away to Bournemouth and raised his levels even further at home to Spurs on Monday.
Two brilliantly taken goals either side of halftime put Chelsea 2-0 in front, only for the visitors to peg them back.
From an individual perspective, Ziyech was well in tune and deserves to play a big part this season.
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