Inside Chelsea's pre-season like no other: Rap music, turning Cobham into a cinema and the Enzo Maresca decision that surprised Blues stars

Chelsea’s director of performance Bryce Cavanagh is no stranger to short training camps. Before being poached by the Premier League club in July 2023, he enjoyed seven years of employment with the England national team, heading up his department at the Football Association.

But even for the experienced Australian, a 13-day pre-season involving 28 players returning after a three-week break following the Club World Cup represented a challenge like no other.

Cavanagh and his colleagues discussed at length what they should do in conjunction with manager Enzo Maresca. The consensus? Bin the bleep test. Scrap the shuttle sprints. Forgo the fitness work that was not necessary. They decided there was no time for Reece James et al being made to feel like Forrest Gump in mindlessly going from one end of the pitch to the other and back.

Save that for a 40-day pre-season. Instead, the squad were told by Maresca upon reconvening at Cobham on the morning of Monday August 4 that they would be treating this ‘like a normal week in a normal season’. First, prepare for their friendlies with Bayer Leverkusen and AC Milan.Then, their opening opponents in the Premier League, Crystal Palace.

The players were pleasantly surprised. Reduced running? Yes please, gaffer. Chelsea’s performance department believed three weeks was hardly long enough for the physical levels of Cole Palmer and Co, being the professionals they are, to have dropped so drastically that catching up to Palace should be seen as futile. Sure, Oliver Glasner’s side beat Millwall 1-0 in a friendly in Beckenham the day before Maresca’s team defeated Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 in New Jersey, but if it was rust you wanted, go check the Cobham groundskeepers’ shed.

After the customary weigh-ins and such, Chelsea’s squad got to work indoors, in their gym space where you will find white silhouettes of trophies smothering a blue surround and a neon sign reminding them they are ‘The Pride of London’.

There was music like ‘Home’ by Knucks – other UK rappers are available – blasting in the background as Liam Delap performed jumping squats with a barbell on his shoulders and Moises Caicedo hopped over a mini hurdle before balancing on a single foot.

Estevao Willian, the Brazilian wonderkid who is 18, fresh from Palmeiras and learning English, was taken under the wing of the Portuguese speakers, not least Pedro Neto, with whom he will be competing for a starting position. The goalkeepers, Robert Sanchez and Filip Jorgensen, had their reactions timed while throwing themselves forward whenever one of the several buttons in front of them flashed green, like a game of Whac-A-Mole.

All this was overseen by a small army of performance coaches, such as Marcos Alvarez – the Spaniard who Maresca brought with him from Leicester City and no, he has not banned ketchup in the canteen as was once mooted – Nick Chadd, Tom Taylor, Tiago Vaz and several others tracking the players’ data in real time on devices. ‘Love that, Rob.’ ‘Yes, Moi.’ ‘Go on, Liam.’ There was positive reinforcement in abundance with it also coming from Willie Isa, Chelsea's hire from the world of rugby with his trusty black notebook forever in hand.

Once that gym session was over, it fell to Dario Essugo – the Caicedo deputy aged 20 who arrived from Sporting CP this summer – to signal its end by ringing the brass bell. It was not supper time, however. Chelsea’s squad were just getting started.

Like the players, the kit department led by Ricky Dowling hardly had much of a break themselves after the Club World Cup as they had to get their new 2025-26 clobber in order.

Dowling has been at Chelsea for 13 years, working more than 750 matches in that time, but Daily Mail Sport can reveal this was his last-ever pre-season at Cobham as he announced midway through this mini camp how he would be leaving for pastures new.

In his kit room, you will find a full-size replica of the Jules Rimet trophy, left there by Andre Schurrle after he won the 2014 World Cup with Germany. Dowling is now departing as a world champion himself following one final summer spent working for Chelsea in the United States.

Outdoors, with the group considered in relatively good nick and no time for running tests anyhow, Maresca concentrated on the technical aspect. Chelsea’s head coach never wants his sessions to be seen as boring with one of his warm-ups essentially the equivalent of a game of tag as the players are split into two teams – the chasers and the chased – inside of a coned square.

Variety is key and in-game scenarios were staged. That saw passing patterns repeated, movement drills involving mannequins, attacking sequences where Joao Pedro would break behind before scoring beyond Gaga Slonina, Chelsea’s third-choice goalkeeper. They practised crossing with Jamie Gittens sending in-swingers into the area for heading home, and another move where Marc Cucurella would cut the ball back after sprinting to the left-hand side of the six-yard box. Palmer stayed behind to take free-kicks, on which he will have first dibs this season.

Before Chelsea’s first friendly versus Leverkusen, Maresca had a gigantic screen on wheels brought on to their training field. Turning Cobham into Cineworld, he played clips of their German opponents from their last pre-season win over Italian side Pisa. Specifically, he showed them how Leverkusen would press high whenever Chelsea took a short goal-kicks.

Wesley Fofana did not feature in that 2-0 victory last Friday, nor their 3-1 beating of Milan on the Sunday, but he is back in full training following his thigh issue.

It was planned he should avoid those friendlies in order to focus on preparing for the new Premier League season. Fofana is one example of tailoring an individual’s schedule where necessary, James being another player who has been protected after his history of hamstring problems.

Levi Colwill’s ACL injury, inflicted towards the end of their first training session on the grass after the three-week break, was crushing. Colwill had dedicated some of his downtime to staying in shape, not wanting Maresca to think he had enjoyed his holiday to Trinidad and Tobago a little too much upon his return to Cobham. He was sent for surgery once scans confirmed the severity.

Chelsea will feel his absence over the coming campaign – Maresca is pushing his superiors to sign him a proper replacement – and the performance department monitored how Colwill’s team-mates responded throughout the remainder of the pre-season period. But they cannot police them 24-7. Cavanagh preaches what he calls ‘the other 22’ – the hours when they are not together at the training ground and they are responsible for their own sleep, nutrition and recovery.

With that, Chelsea had done all they could in the 13 days they had. It was never given a name, but if anyone had branded it ‘Operation Rush’, there would have been few objections.

Daily Mail Sport asked Maresca for his assessment this week and he said: ‘Where we are from one to 10? We are OK. We are good.’ Given their tiny turnaround, it is little wonder insiders say they are competing in two seasons morphed into one.

It is helpful their first four Premier League fixtures are all in London – less travelling, more time at Cobham – while they will not face a top-six side until a trip to Liverpool in October.

Whether the workload of 2024-25 will catch up with them in 2025-26, either immediately or closer to Christmas, we can only wait and see what happens from today’s Palace test onward.