Marc Cucurella jokingly sent a message to Chelsea youngster Lewis Hall after training yesterday, urging him to hit the gym to get stronger.
Graham Potter is currently working with the first-team squad in Abu Dhabi, with a mix of both academy players and senior individuals involved in training. Of course, the only faces missing are those still participating at the World Cup.
Cucurella, 24, is hopefully one of the Blues players that’s using the winter break wisely after a tough start to life at Stamford Bridge.
As for Chelsea’s academy graduate Hall, the break probably came at the worst time for him.
The versatile 18-year-old started back-to-back first-team games before the World Cup break.
Marc Cucurella message to Lewis Hall
Cucurella posted a message on his Instagram story on Wednesday to banter with Hall.
“Sorry amigo… you need more gym,” Cucurella wrote.
In our view, Hall has every chance of sticking around with the main group post-World Cup.
He’s going to physically develop with age and Cucurella is having some light-hearted fun, but the truth is he didn’t look out of place in the senior XI.
The left-footer really looked the part in games against Manchester City and Newcastle United with some driving runs in wide areas.
The central midfielder’s versatility to easily slot into a wing-back role is something that Graham Potter will love, too.
Described as a “powerful runner” by Trevoh Chalobah, Hall is the next emerging star on Chelsea’s books that everyone is excited to see more of.
It’s going to be interesting to see what kind of role Potter has planned for him in the second half of the season.
If the opportunity arises, a loan deal could be fantastic for him in the long-term.
Keep up to date with all the latest Chelsea news and opinion by following The Chelsea Chronicle’s Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox
