Enzo Fernandez, Malo Gusto, Reece James, Valentin Barco, Pep Chavarria, Maxence Lacroix, Morgan Rogers and Jordan Henderson in Chelsea training
Enzo Fernandez, Malo Gusto, Reece James, Valentin Barco, Pep Chavarria, Maxence Lacroix, Morgan Rogers and Jordan Henderson(Image: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC)
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Pep Chavarria trained with his Chelsea teammates for the first time on Wednesday in the Surrey sunshine.
A large handful of the Blues squad reported at the club's Cobham base for the first time this summer earlier this week. New signings Chavarria, Maxence Lacroix, Jordan Henderson, Morgan Rogers and Valentin Barco were all present in the session, as were Reece James, Malo Gusto and Enzo Fernandez - all of whom recently returned from extended breaks following their World Cup exploits.
Those who represented Chelsea during the recently-concluded pre-season tour were also at the club's training centre.
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The good news for Blues supporters was the sight of Henderson being involved in what looked to be match-type situations in training. Xabi Alonso said while in Hong Kong that when Henderson does join training in the UK, the England international would be assessed after suffering a serious arm injury earlier in the summer.
The Stamford Bridge crowd will be hoping to see Henderson take some part when Chelsea take on Real Sociedad in their final pre-season friendly on Saturday afternoon.
That friendly comes just nine days before the Blues' Premier League opener against Fulham at Craven Cottage. Alonso wants a settled squad in the week building up to the west London derby and that's why Chelsea have set a deadline to sign Fernandez.
Pep Chavarria of Chelsea
Pep Chavarria of Chelsea during a training session at Cobham (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
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The Blues have essentially given an ultimatum, 'put up or shut up', when it comes to Fernandez. All summer-long, Chelsea have set a £120million price tag on the Argentina international, who told the club a few months ago of his desire to leave.
At the time of writing, with less than three weeks of the summer transfer window remaining, there has been no direct club-to-club dialogue regarding the 25-year-old midfielder. Sources close to the situation insist there have been no official offers either.
Fernandez was all smiles with his Chelsea teammates in training but his future remains up in the air. At least until Friday evening. Man City are working on deals to sell Tijani Reijnders and Rodri, which in theory would make space for Fernandez in Enzo Maresca's engine room, while also helping fund such an expensive valuation.
There are so many ifs and buts right now, but one thing is for certain: this transfer saga is expected to have more twists and turns up until Chelsea's unofficial deadline.