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Mauricio Pochettino leaves five players out of Chelsea’s pre-season tour squad.
While the majority of Mauricio Pochettino’s team fly to the United States to start their preseason tour, Chelsea has left a number of first-team players back at Cobham.
The west London team leaves for North Carolina on Monday after two weeks of training before taking on Wrexham in their first preseason match on Thursday at the Kenan Memorial Stadium.
However, the Daily Mail reports that Romelu Lukaku will be joined by high-profile absentees Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Hakim Ziyech in missing the trip.
The three players aren’t in Pochettino’s first-team plans and are all the focus of transfer rumours.
The Argentine manager had given Lukaku permission to rejoin the team, but he is presently negotiating with Juventus to return to Serie A, while Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal are also keen.
Aubameyang and Ziyech have now received the same instructions. He was informed he could postpone a return to Cobham until after the rest of the team has travelled to the United States, avoiding any potential discomfort.
Chelsea and Marseille are currently in negotiations about a possible transfer for the former captain of Arsenal, Aubameyang, who is willing to go back to France.
However, the Blues’ hierarchy wants to secure a transfer fee – having paid £ 16.9 million just a year ago – while his enormous salary could also prove to be a stumbling block to any deal.
Ziyech, meantime, was on the verge of transferring to Saudi Arabia when a knee problem discovered during a medical caused the agreement to fall through. Nevertheless, he still has a number of suitors, including Napoli.
Along with the more experienced group of displeased senior players, Chelsea will also be without two young players, Omari Hutchinson and Harvey Vale.
The two teenagers have been training with the rest of the squad but, according to The Athletic, will not be part of the set-up next season so will instead stay behind in London in order to secure loan deals elsewhere and regular first-team football.
There is better news elsewhere, though, with 19-year-old goalkeeper Eddie Beach expected to travel with the squad later today.
According to football.london, the shot-stopper is highly rated and could be required as third-choice keeper next season behind Kepa Arrizabalaga and Marcus Bettinelli, with American Gabriel Slonina set to be loaned out.