Joao Felix & Ben Chilwell headline raft of unwanted Chelsea players to report back for pre-season - with numbers 'well into double figures'

The report mentions that the total number of players back in training could swell over 10. Most of these players were not part of Chelsea’s core squad last season and had instead spent time out on loan. The expectation is that many will move on again before the current transfer window shuts down.

Chelsea signed Felix for a reported £44.5 million ($60.5m) from Benfica last August but quickly sent him out on loan to AC Milan midway through the campaign. He struggled to find his feet at San Siro and now finds himself back in London looking for a fresh opportunity elsewhere. Whereas Chilwell, who played for Crystal Palace last season, also returned to Cobham this week. Joining him were several other loan returnees, including midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu (from Southampton), goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic (Strasbourg), defender Renato Veiga (Juventus), striker Armando Broja (Everton), centre-back Axel Disasi (Aston Villa), and Alfie Gilchrist (Sheffield United). However, Raheem Sterling is yet to join the group.

With Chelsea’s first-team staff currently focused on the Club World Cup in the United States, the players at Cobham were being trained by Ed Brand, who serves as the club’s loan technical coach. There are also reports of an upcoming behind-closed-doors friendly being arranged, intended to give these returning players match sharpness. Chelsea will face Bayer Leverkusen and Milan in two friendlies in August, and these two fixtures will be a 'showcase event' for the bomb squad, as revealed byThe Daily Mail.

Chelsea have reached the final of the FIFA Club World Cup, having secured a 2-0 victory over Brazilian side Fluminense on Tuesday. Joao Pedro starred in that encounter with two goals, guiding the Blues into the final, where they will face either Paris Saint-Germain or Real Madrid on July 13.