Chelsea FC: 5 Players To Watch This Pre-Season
Now it’s to the youngsters. Kurt Zouma seems to be Jose Mourinho’s favourite youth prospect at the moment, and has received much praise from the boss. With the season just around the corner, Zouma will look to use these friendlies as an opportunity to prove that he is ready for even more first team football.
The French defender was slowly bled into the first team last season, making his debut in September and going on to appear 26 times in all competitions. While he is evidently being nurtured for a long Stamford Bridge career, he may be able to force his development forward with a string of good performances stateside.
This seems even more plausible given the current lack of depth in defence. Gary Cahill and John Terry are the starting centre-backs. While this is solid enough, the latter is inching closer to retirement and the former will turn 30 later this year. The only other feasible back-up is Branislav Ivanovic, who is often used as a full-back anyway.
Terry, realistically, won’t be able to play all 38 league games again this season and thus regular cover will be needed. Zouma should use this pre-season to show that Mourinho doesn’t need to bring in high-profile players such as John Stones, because he is ready to step right in to the first team seamlessly.
I, for one, would certainly like to see this happen.
Next: Ruben Loftus-Cheek