Maurizio Sarri has wasted no time drilling his style of play into Chelsea’s squad, with seven training sessions booked in at Perth’s WACA ground before Monday.
The players who did not go to the World Cup are being put through their paces by the new manager, who wants to instil his attacking brand of football – dubbed ‘Sarri-ball’ by some around Chelsea – before they face Manchester City in the Community Shield on August 5.
The Italian has told his stars he is valuing training over matches at the moment and plans another two sessions on Saturday and Sunday with a seventh on Monday before their friendly fixture against Perth Glory. After that Chelsea face Inter Milan and Arsenal.
Maurizio Sarri has seven training sessions booked in to drill his tactics into Chelsea’s players
The former Napoli manager held a press conference on Friday and answered every question from the Australian media in English rather than using the translator beside him.
Meanwhile, Cesc Fabregas has been speaking to Eden Hazard in an attempt to persuade his close friend to snub a big-money move to Real Madrid.
Sitting next to Sarri, who wants to hold face-to-face talks with Hazard rather than plead over the phone, Fabregas said he has been in contact with the Belgium midfielder. He insisted that Chelsea need to keep their best players and gave an insight into what the squad are thinking about the situation.
‘I won’t lie, I’ve spoken to him, yes,’ said Fabregas, who left Arsenal to join La Liga giants Barcelona in 2011. ‘I think he’s our best player. Chelsea need to keep their best players.
‘We are a top club, we want to be a top team, we want to win things, and for that you need your best players. Eden is one of them.
‘He knows here that everyone loves him, the fans, the club, the players. We need him. He knows that. That is for sure.’
Sarri and assistant Gianfranco Zola lead a training session at the WACA in Perth on Friday
Cesc Fabregas, Sarri and David Luiz pose after their press conference at the Optus Stadium
Hazard and the other World Cup players are not due to return to training until the day before the Community Shield meeting with City and Fabregas hopes his friend’s future is settled by then.
‘Obviously I don’t know exactly what is in his mind,’ added the Spaniard, ‘but definitely from our point of view he is a very, very important player for us. He is a player that we all love to play with, especially me.
‘Hopefully the club will decide, and Eden will decide, but for us he is our most important player and for sure we want him to stay.’
Hazard’s contract has two years to run and he has so far resisted signing a £300,000-a-week extension.
Eden Hazard’s contract has two years to run but he has so far resisted signing an extension