Morgan Rogers has put in the hard yards during his extended holiday, gearing up for his long-awaited arrival at Chelsea.
Morgan Rogers in one-to-one training with Belgrave Coaching ahead of his arrival at Chelsea
Morgan Rogers in one-to-one training with Belgrave Coaching ahead of his arrival at Chelsea(Image: Belgrave Coaching on Instagram)
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Morgan Rogers has stepped up preparations ahead of his arrival at Chelsea. The 24-year-old midfielder, whom the Blues signed from Aston Villa for £117m last month, making him the most expensive British player of all time, has been working hard during the off-season to ensure he's ready to hit the ground running at Stamford Bridge.
football.london understands that, upon signing a six-year contract, which includes the option of a further 12 months, Rogers was given an extended three-week holiday, having gone the distance with England at the World Cup. So, he was subsequently left out of the squad that travelled for the pre-season tour of Australia and Asia.
Rogers could make his debut when Chelsea host Real Sociedad in a friendly on Saturday, August 15. It will be the final game of pre-season, and the first time Xabi Alonso leads the Blues out in front of a home crowd at Stamford Bridge.
In the meantime, the Three Lions international has been working hard with Belgrave Coaching to rebuild his fitness. In fact, shortly before Chelsea's clash against AC Milan at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Central Jakarta, Indonesia, Rogers was put through his paces.
On Friday, in a video uploaded to Instagram, the new Blues star completed a high-intensity pass-and-move drill, popping off the ball to his private coach before and after slaloming around some cones. Then, on Saturday, Belgrave Coaching uploaded another video of Rogers to social media.
The Englishman, who will wear the number 17 for Chelsea, appeared to cap off a particular drill with a timed-interval lung-busting run. Rogers has worked closely with the private coaching company for a while now, but the extra work in the off-season follows a warning from his new manager back in July.
Morgan Rogers in one-to-one training with Belgrave Coaching ahead of his arrival at Chelsea
Morgan Rogers in one-to-one training with Belgrave Coaching ahead of his arrival at Chelsea
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Shortly after the Blues signed the playmaker, Alonso 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 in one-to-one training with Belgrave Coaching ahead of his arrival at Chelsea
Morgan Rogers in one-to-one training with Belgrave Coaching ahead of his arrival at Chelsea
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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."
As it stands, it remains to be seen where Alonso plans to play Rogers, whether it be central or on the left. Regardless to say, he will need to hit the ground running, with Jamie Gittens making a good impression in pre-season.