Opinion: 3 Chelsea players who have impressed in pre-season

#2 Mateo Kovacic

Mateo Kovacic seems like he's recovering some good form in pre-season

Infamous for last season's substitution saga under Maurizio Sarri, Kovacic and Ross Barkley traded places on the pitch 22 times to play more or less the same role in the squad, but neither provided convincing performances.

In the build up to the upcoming season, the man who's been permanently signed from Real Madrid has shown glimpses of the dribbler we saw at Inter Milan, which in turn sparked his move to the Spanish giants.

Kovacic has never been a prolific goalscorer; his best goal-scoring season was his final season at Inter where he scored five times and assisted five more. His primary role in most teams has been as a midfielder who can help carry the ball up the pitch for the team. The Croatia international has shown that he can do that in pre-season, and that he's capable of playing some stunning passes to release players.

Should he carry a similar vein of form into the Premier League, we will see a completely different Kovacic for Chelsea this season.