Morgan Rogers has been working closely with Belgrave Coaching during his holiday
Morgan Rogers has been working closely with Belgrave Coaching during his holiday(Image: Belgrave Coaching on Instagram)
View 3 Images
Morgan Rogers has stepped up preparations ahead of his integration into the Chelsea squad. At the end of last month, the Blues announced the signing of the 23-year-old midfielder from Aston Villa, making him the most expensive British player of all time after finalising a deal worth £117m.
football.london understands that, upon signing a six-year contract with Chelsea, which includes the option of a further 12 months, Rogers was granted a three-week break, having only just returned from the United States following the World Cup. The England international was subsequently left out of the squad that travelled for the pre-season tour of Australia and Asia.
Rogers would, in theory, be eligible to return to action at the end of this week when the Blues face AC Milan in Indonesia on Saturday, August 8, and Johor Darul Ta’zim in Malaysia on Sunday, August 9. Although it's not off the table, it's unlikely that Chelsea will fly out the Englishman, as well as a few other late returnees, halfway across the globe only to head home shortly after.
Fortunately for Rogers, the Blues are set to play Real Sociedad in a friendly on Saturday, August 15. It will be the final friendly of pre-season, and the first time Alonso leads his new side out in front of a home crowd at Stamford Bridge.
Eager to hit the ground running, Rogers has been working closely with a private one-to-one training company called Belgrave Coaching ahead of his arrival at Chelsea. Together, they have recently uploaded some pictures from the warm-weather session to their Instagram story.
The extra work in the off-season follows a warning from Alonso back in July. When speaking for the first time shortly after the Blues signed the Englishman, he said: "All the ones who come later because they reached the final stages of the World Cup, they will be ready.
"We have a few of them, so they have to be ready. It’s a great signing. In that position, we needed an important player, and I’m sure there were not many better options than Morgan Rogers."
Morgan Rogers has been working closely with Belgrave Coaching during his holiday
Morgan Rogers has been working closely with Belgrave Coaching during his holiday(Image: Belgrave Coaching on Instagram)
3View 3 Images
Morgan Rogers has been working closely with Belgrave Coaching during his holiday
Morgan Rogers has been working closely with Belgrave Coaching during his holiday
3View 3 Images
Alonso added: "We were looking at him for a long time. He’s going to be a key player for the team. Luckily, it happened quickly, and now we have Morgan.
"You need players who can have that almost instant impact, and I’m sure Morgan won’t need much time to adapt to the club, to the system, to his team-mates. That was the idea that we wanted, and to get a top player, and Morgan is one of them."
Then, speaking to reporters ahead of Chelsea's first friendly of pre-season in front of supporters, Alonso said: "We need to compete, we need to have good energy, we need to run, we need to work hard.
"We need to make the sacrifices that are compulsory and mandatory in each Premier League game. To win each game, it's tough. We need to prepare for that, and we are using this time."
Rogers has certainly heeded the advice, or warning, of Alonso, and has made sacrifices during the off-season in order to hit the ground running...