Inside Chelsea’s summer tour: Alonso’s squad handling, Palmer positives and reintegrating Mudryk

On the last night of the Hong Kong leg of Chelsea’s pre-season tour, all the players and staff made the most of a rare break to head out for a meal together.

Such was the intensity of the work put in during this trip to Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Malaysia, it was one of just two days off everyone got to enjoy over a period away lasting in excess of two weeks.

It was seen as a great opportunity for the group to get out of the team hotel and spend time together in a less formal setting, and strengthen bonds. The menu was primarily Chinese, and they ate with a great view of the lights of Hong Kong Island reflected in the waters of the harbour.

The tour, which involved over 25,000 miles of flying, is an important part of Chelsea’s preparation for the coming season under new manager Xabi Alonso.

There were five games, two open training sessions, transfer activity, a punishment issued by the Football Association for past misdemeanours and Mykhailo Mudryk finally being reunited with the squad. In other words, and in keeping with this football club, never a dull moment.

To tell the story of Chelsea’s pre-season tour of Australia and East Asia, The Athletic spoke with sources at the club and around the squad on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships.

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The mood of Cole Palmer was an early gauge. Feeling fresh from a rare full summer off after being left out of England’s World Cup squad, those close to the Chelsea travelling party quickly noticed he was in great spirits.

It was not just that he volunteered to do his first pre-match press conference since joining from Manchester City in September 2023 before the Tottenham friendly in Sydney — the 24-year-old joked about sending the bailiffs to the house of new £117million-signing Morgan Rogers should his friend do the ‘ice cold’ celebration, which Palmer has trademarked — but also his interactions behind the scenes, in the camp and at fan events, that showed his upbeat mindset.

One incident in Hong Kong, which made it onto social media, showed him posing for a picture with a group of fans, tapping the shoulder of one in the front row so he looked the wrong way as the cameras flashed.

@sportbible The Chelsea man clearly in a jokey mood 🤣 🎥 IG/c1oriss #fyp #sportbible #football #chelsea #colepalmer ♬ original sound – SPORTbible

When the team bus pulled up to, or away from, crowds, he would bang on the windows to get their attention and encourage more noise.

It is not as if Palmer has been a recluse since moving to Stamford Bridge, but people close to the squad noticed a difference, and see it as a positive sign as to where his head is at going into his fourth Chelsea season.

A lot of work goes into a tour of this magnitude.

The club sent representatives to the respective cities months in advance to gauge what their hotels could provide and to ensure separate areas for the squad would be arranged. Chelsea’s players ate in their own restaurant, with the club’s chef overseeing what meals were made for them. A variety was provided, with an intent to make dishes reflect whichever country they were staying in. But in homage to Alonso’s home country of Spain, paella was cooked on at least one occasion.

It was important for Chelsea staff and players to have access to lifts that were not available to other hotel guests and visitors. The club’s security personnel were ever-present, particularly in Hong Kong, where fans would stand for hours in various roped-off pockets the hotel had set up, just to get a glimpse of their heroes.

On one occasion, Levi Colwill had a big smile on his face as he walked through to raucous cheers carrying a few bags, having clearly made the most of a Hong Kong shopping trip. If you happened to be in official Chelsea clothing, an autograph was asked for, even if your physique and/or age clearly indicated you were not a member of the playing squad.

However, a measure of how the vibe was not quite as relaxed among security staff at this stop on the trip compared to Sydney came when reporters invited to attend a media event were challenged when simply heading to the bathroom.

The team enjoyed their interactions during the trip. Access had to be limited to give them periods to relax and recuperate. But players would be chosen to attend commercial events to meet locals, with a preference to make them close to the hotel, so as to limit travel and therefore not eat into their schedule too much.

Some 5,289 fans paid 15 Australian dollars (nearly £8; just over US$10) to see them train at the Allianz Stadium in Sydney on July 26, a day after they had landed.

The journey out from the UK was over two legs. The first involved an 11-hour flight to Sri Lanka, where the plane stopped to refuel, while that was happening the players got off to do some stretching exercises with staff, before travelling for another 10 hours to Sydney.

To help the players get adjusted to local time straight away, meals and sleep were scheduled accordingly while still on the plane. Even so, it took most people 48 hours to recover from the jet lag, while Alonso was complaining of being awake between 2am and 6am for several days after arriving.

Despite the rigours of travelling to the other side of the world, players hit the gym to work-out on day one. Many shirts were signed at the Allianz Stadium after their first proper training session on the second day. Jamie Gittens endeared himself to the crowd when one young boy escaped the stewards to run onto the pitch to get to him. The winger paused an interview with the English media to accede to the lad’s request for an autograph, earning the loudest cheer of all.

The ticket price for the trip’s other open training session, at the Kai Tak Stadium in Hong Kong, was higher at HK$300 (over £28), but so was the attendance. Over 15,000 were in the stands. Mudryk got the best reception. The winger had arrived the day before, after the Football Association and World Anti-Doping Agency agreed to resolve his doping case. He had been suspended since November 2024, following an adverse finding.

Perhaps it is no surprise after being out of the game for so long, but people at Chelsea found him to be a different person on arrival. Whereas he was previously regarded as a bit of a loner and sullen, Mudryk turned up full of smiles and hugs, engaging with as many club personnel as possible.

A measure of just how delighted everyone was to have him back in the fold came when striker Nicolas Jackson agreed with Alonso to be substituted late on in the friendly there against Juventus, despite having come off the bench himself, so the Ukraine international could make his first Chelsea appearance for 21 months.

The news of Mudryk being cleared broke at 1am Australian time on Saturday, August 2. Hours earlier, the Football Association’s decision to fine Chelsea £10million for rule breaches regarding agents and third parties between 2011-18 emerged. Just more subject matter for Alonso to handle in press conferences. Welcome to Chelsea, Xabi.

Most of the intrigue on tour surrounded Alonso and how he was taking to his new position. Much was made of Chelsea signing Jordan Henderson, 36, and 35-year-old Danny Welbeck while they were in Australia, players acquired to bring some leadership into the dressing room; Maxence Lacroix, 26, too.

But club sources, speaking anonymously to The Athletic to protect relationships, talked of Alonso and his staff being the ones to set the standards from the get-go during the trip. The idea being that everyone could see how hard the coaches were working, so would follow suit.

For example, training or a match would finish, and Alonso would be seen on the team bus immediately afterwards, already studying clips from it on his laptop and/or preparing the next session.

His attention to detail and focus were clear. When speaking to individuals, eye-contact was kept throughout, sending the message that he was not just talking to them for the sake of it and would rather be elsewhere.

Players were wowed by the 44-year-old former Liverpool, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Spain midfielder’s ability on the ball when he joined in sessions. Sources around the squad spoke about how he led training like he “was directing traffic”.

Inevitably, in such a large group of players, not everyone was happy with how things were going for them on the tour. More than one source connected to individuals in the travelling party told The Athletic that it was felt by some of them that Alonso had an A and a B team. This led them to feel they would not be figuring in his plans, because they would regularly be training and playing with what seemed to be a second string of academy youngsters and fringe players linked with moves away. Chelsea do not agree a two-tier system was in place and say Alonso gave everyone, including Under-21s players, a chance to impress.

Meanwhile, goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen, who told the club he wanted to leave at the end of last season, had the bizarre situation of flying back to the UK from Australia, just three days after arriving, to find himself a new club.

Sources close to some of the under-21 players on the tour remarked how they loved the experience of being involved, that unlike in previous years on such trips, there was not a case of senior players being in one area while they were made to feel they had to be elsewhere.

Chelsea academy graduate Colwill was highlighted as someone who particularly helped ensure there was no divide. Former under-21s coach and backroom-staff member Calum McFarlane also provided encouragement to the youngsters. Midfielders Reggie Watson and Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli, both 16, got the most minutes out of the academy kids, and impressed.

As manager, rather than head coach, Alonso is having a lot more of a say, and he spoke with the club’s sporting directors daily.

A plan was put in place beforehand to cope with the time difference and the impact that it could have on negotiating transfers back in Europe. Chelsea had Sam Jewell operating out of their Cobham training complex in the first week while Paul Winstanley, Laurence Stewart and Joe Shields were with the group in Sydney. For the second week, Winstanley returned to London, with Jewell arriving in Hong Kong to take his place.

Even then, it was common for senior personnel to still be on the phone at 3am local time (6pm in the UK), trying to get things done.

Alonso used the only other day off, the Thursday in the first week, to play a round of golf with senior personnel. It provided a great opportunity to get to know each other better and discuss plans. It also demonstrated again that Alonso never really switched off.

Club sources, speaking anonymously to protect relationships, told The Athletic that Alonso is a major draw for Chelsea in the transfer market and also that players already on the books were lifted by his arrival. Significantly, more than one source said that, unlike previous long-haul summer trips, people were not counting down the days until they could return to England, but instead were focused and enjoyed this rare experience. 

Chelsea were paid for their participation in this tour, and the ticket prices for the matches reflected this.

For the opening 6-4 win against A-League side Western Sydney Wanderers in the city’s Accor Stadium, they went for as much as AUD$200 (just over £100). When they lost 2-1 to Tottenham in front of 80,363 people at the same venue four days later, the most expensive seat in the house was AUD$300 (nearly £160).

Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Stadium, venue for the 1-0 defeat to Juventus in the next match, attracted a crowd of 43,575, despite tickets ranging from HK$399 (just under £40) to HK$2,999 (a little over £280)

There was no concern over the fact Chelsea were beaten in back-to-back games. The priority was fitness, plus the matches both involved a lot of substitutions. Also, first-team members Reece James, Enzo Fernandez and Malo Gusto, plus new signings Lacroix, Rogers and Henderson, are not going to begin their pre-seasons until this week following post-World Cup holidays.

While the football element of this tour was of the greatest importance, the presence of Chelsea’s president and chief operating officer Jason Gannon was significant, too. He had meetings throughout as the club look to open the door to possible global partnerships and sponsorships. For example, in Hong Kong he attended a chamber of commerce meeting organised by the British consulate.

Chelsea’s trip ended with a 3-0 win against Milan in Jakarta, Indonesia, and a 3-3 draw with domestic champions Johor Darul Ta’zim in Malaysia on successive days over the weekend.

It is early days under Alonso, but so far, so good.