The start of the Premier League season is now only days away, with fans of all 20 clubs - and indeed the wider football community - eager for the 2024-25 campaign to get underway.
For Chelsea, it is another season in which they will be starting with a new manager at the helm, with Enzo Maresca taking over where Mauricio Pochettino left off at the end of 2023-24.
Maresca of course masterminded Leicester's thrilling return to the promised land last term, and arrives with a brand new philosophy, and a raft of new signings to help him implement it.
But how have the Blues been getting on in pre-season? Are they showing any signs of adapting to the manager's new style? How has Maresca been handling the growing numbers at Stamford Bridge?
Here, Mail Sport's KIERAN GILLanswers your pressing questions about Chelsea ahead of their season opener against Manchester City.
Enzo Maresca arrives at Chelsea and brings with him a brand new philosophy for the Blues
He faces a stern task coaching Chelsea in his new style while also bedding in their new players
Pedro Neto is the latest of a number of players to have brought in over the summer window
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Has Enzo Maresca had enough time to instil his style of play into Chelsea?
It did not help that Chelsea spent so long in the United States as the pitches there were not the best for perfecting a passing style on with Moises Caicedo among those who complained to the assembled journalists at their dryness.
With all of their travelling in going from coast to coast, Enzo Maresca even had to rely purely on video sessions before the odd friendly, hence why they may have struggled on occasion.
Expect extended training sessions to be held on the pristine pitches of Cobham as Maresca bids to ensure his philosophy is fully understood in time for the start of the Premier League season.
It may not be ready for that first massive fixture at home to Manchester City, but I’m confident it will improve as the season goes on.
Extended training sessions at Cobham are expected to help the team gel to Maresca's style
Pep Guardiola and Man City represent a huge obstacle for the first game of Maresca's reign
Will the Chelsea ownership show patience with Maresca?
That’s the plan. There is a reason why Chelsea hired Maresca on a five-year contract with the option of a sixth year. That was much longer than Mauricio Pochettino’s two-year deal with a third.
Chelsea’s hierarchy, led by Behdad Eghbali alongside his co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, conducted a thorough process in pinpointing who their next manager ought to be.
Maresca was chosen over Thomas Frank and Kieran McKenna as he suited their long-term vision for aggressive football and so you hope he will be given time to oversee it all.
Saying that, it can only take one poor run of results for panic to set in among supporters and, sometimes, that same trepidation can invade the boardroom.
But if I was a betting man, I would say Maresca will still be Chelsea manager this time next year, at least.
Behdad Eghbali (right) and his co-directorsconducted a thorough process in pinpointing who their next manager ought to be
Maresca saw off the likes of Thomas Frank and Kieran McKenna to take the hotseat at Chelsea
Has Chelsea’s injury crisis finally ceased?
Pochettino mentioned Chelsea's injury crisis weekly. It was a dead cert on his press conference bingo card, up there with pleading for time to oversee the project.
The club conducted a review into why they were plagued by so many problems and found no silver bullet.
However, tweaks have been made as this season, Maresca will work with fitness coaches to make sure the players don’t break down until the pressure of the workload.Thankfully, Chelsea made it through their United States tour unscathed.
Reece James, Christopher Nkunku and Romeo Lavia were the only three players to start all five of their friendlies, and they were the ones who were injured the most last season.
Christopher Nkunku (pictured), Reece James and Romeo Lavia were the only three players to start all five pre-season friendlies
How does Maresca handle such a bloated squad?
There should be plenty of minutes to be played by all, given the hellishly-long season that Chelsea have ahead of them.
They have the Premier League, the FA Cup, the Carabao Cup, the Conference League and then next summer, the Club World Cup in the United States.
If Chelsea can be competitive in all of those competitions – and that is the aim – then Maresca is looking at a season consisting of 75-plus games.
Chelsea have been mocked for having so many players – they even had four goalkeepers in the squad for the friendly win over Club America – but remember, most of their men are actually youngsters who have been signed for the future.
They are bound to average the youngest XI in the Premier League in 2024-25.
Chelsea have a bloated squad at the moment but they could play around 75 games this season
How do Chelsea stop being so leaky at the back?
Chelsea conceded a club record number of goals in the Premier League last season under Pochettino – 63 in total as they parted ways with the Argentinian in the summer.
While Maresca wants to install an attacking style of play, he must also fix their leaky defence.
In pre-season, that has been a problem, as they averaged more than two goals conceded per game in the United States.
Under Pochettino, Chelsea conceded a club record 63 goals in the Premier League last season
It was interesting to hear Maresca tell us after their fifth and final friendly of that tour – a 2-1 loss to Real Madrid – that he is still trying to get the Pochettino out of his players.
He specifically said that they are still holding a high defensive line, which is not what he wants as he described that as a 'habit from last year'.
