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Chelsea will kick-start their pre-season campaign under newly appointed manager Maurizio Sarri against Perth Glory at the Optus Stadium in Perth later today. The Blues will be looking for a breath of fresh air under the former Napoli coach following their dismal performances under Antonio Conte last season. Chelsea will be without the likes of World Cup stars Eden Hazard, Thibaut Courtois, N'Golo Kante, Gary Cahill and Ruben Loftus-Cheek while Kurt Zouma has not travelled to Australia due to an injury.
However, the 25-man pre-season squad named by Sarri includes a number of players who will have to fight tooth and nail to revive their careers under the new manager at Stamford Bridge. Following their exploits in Perth, Chelsea will travel to Nice for their International Champions Cup campaign in which they are scheduled to lock horns with Inter Milan.
Furthermore, Chelsea will face Manchester City on the 5th of August for the Community Shield in a fixture sandwiched between games against Arsenal (Dublin) and Lyon (Stamford Bridge), to complete their warm up games before the start of the upcoming season. In this segment, we take a closer look at 5 players who will have to impress Sarri during pre-season to revive their careers.
Without further delay, let's delve into the same:
#5 Lucas Piazon
Ever since making his debut for the first team back in 2012, Lucas Piazon has struggled to leave a lasting impact at Stamford Bridge like many other youngsters who have had to seek other options due to the lack of opportunities with Chelsea. Piazon showed glimpses of his potential during his competitive as well as Premier League debut against Wolves and Aston Villa respectively, wherein he managed to grab an assist on both occasions en route to thumping victories for Chelsea.
However, since then the 24-year-old has had to go out on loan to 5 different clubs including Malaga, Vitesse, Eintracht Frankfurt and back to England with second division outfits Reading and Fulham. Piazon has impressed during his recent 2 year loan spell with Fulham, amassing over 50 appearances and registering about 10 goals during his time at Craven Cottage.
Often deployed anywhere ranging from wide left to wide right or just behind the striker, the Brazilian's versatility could work wonders under a manager like Maurizio Sarri and his sound defensive work rate is an added bonus to any side that he will be playing for this season.
#4 Danny Drinkwater
Danny Drinkwater has failed to rekindle the magic he produced at Leicester City, during the Foxes' fairy tale run to the Premier League crown under Claudio Ranieri in the 2015/16 season, ever since joining Chelsea last summer. The midfielder completed a £35m move to Stamford Bridge ahead of the 2017/18 season and was forced to take a lengthy lay-off due to a thigh problem before making his debut only in October.
The 28-year-old struggled to find his best form as the season dragged on and was restricted to just 522 minutes of playing time in the Premier League and just 563 across all competitions to cap off a disappointing campaign. Drinkwater has been consistently linked with a move away from Chelsea this summer but the midfielder has traveled to Australia and is expected to be provided with an opportunity to try and impress the new manager as they prepare to take on Perth Glory.
#3 David Luiz
Perhaps the change in coaching personnel at Stamford Bridge has helped David Luiz more than anyone at the club. After reportedly falling-out with Antonio Conte last season, Luiz was isolated from the starting line-up for the majority of the season and the lack of involvement certainly cost him a place in Brazil's World Cup squad.
However, the appointment of Maurizio Sarri will certainly boost the defender's credentials as he prepares to revive his career after a disappointing campaign last season, marred by injuries and alienation from the first team setup at Stamford Bridge. The 31-year-old made just 9 appearances in the Premier League last term, reportedly as a consequence for voicing his opinions against Conte's tactics in training.
Luiz is expected to start the game against Perth Glory in the absence of Kurt Zouma and other notable first team defenders including Andreas Christensen, Cesar Azpilicueta and Antonio Rudiger.
#2 Tiemoue Bakayoko
Tiemoue Bakayoko had a debut season to forget with Chelsea last year and the Frenchman looked comical throughout the campaign, doing no justice whatsoever to his hefty £40m price tag. The midfielder received plenty of stick for his performances last season after arriving in England as one of the most promising youngsters in Europe, thanks to his solid performances for AS Monaco in Ligue 1.
The fact that Bakayoko was still nursing a knee injury upon his arrival in London did not help him but he was certainly a shadow of the player he claimed to be, with the then Ligue 1 champions. Despite making around 38 appearances across all competitions last year, Bakayoko had only managed 2 goals and 2 assists to his name while also being extremely error prone with his passing and positioning.
However, the 23-year-old will definitely want to prove his point in the upcoming season and pre-season will act as the ideal breeding ground for him to win the new manager's confidence as Chelsea prepare to revive themselves.
#1 Charly Musonda
Charly Musonda, who is a product of the infamous Anderlecht youth setup in Belgium, joined Chelsea back in 2011 but only made his competitive first team debut in their 2017 Community Shield clash against Arsenal. The Belgian winger made 3 appearances from the bench in the Premier League under Antonio Conte last year and has often drawn comparisons from Chelsea superstar Eden Hazard, due to their similar style of play and nationality.
Musonda's best loan spell came at Real Betis during the 2016/17 season where he impressed and amassed around 24 appearances for the club. However, the recall in December last year did not work out exactly in his favour at Stamford Bridge and after struggling to find regular involvement with the first team, he was loaned out to Celtic in January.
The 21-year-old mustered only 4 appearances for the Scottish champions during his time at Celtic Park under Brendan Rodgers and with uncertainty surrounding the future of Willian at Chelsea, Musonda will be hoping to convice Maurizio Sarri that he is ready to become a regular in South-West London.
