Chelsea have reportedly arranged two behind-closed-doors friendlies as Xabi Alonso steps up preparations for his first season at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues will face Crawley Town and Bromley at Cobham before flying to Australia for their public pre-season schedule.
According to The Sun, citing Mail Sport, Chelsea will play the private matches on Saturday 18 July and Thursday 23 July. Only coaching staff from the clubs will watch the games.
Alonso led his first full training session on Thursday, with Cole Palmer, João Pedro, Wesley Fofana and Levi Colwill among the players involved.
Several internationals remain at the World Cup. Enzo Fernández will play in the final, while Reece James, Trevoh Chalobah and Malo Gusto have the third-place match before returning to club duty.
Alonso gets early chance to assess Chelsea squad
The two games will give Alonso an important opportunity to assess the players already working at Cobham.
Chelsea will not treat the results as important. The manager can instead focus on fitness, positioning and how quickly the squad understands his instructions.
The private fixtures should also give academy players and fringe members of the group a chance to impress before Chelsea finalise their travelling squad.
As Read Chelsea reported after Alonso’s first training session, the new head coach has only a short period at Cobham before travel begins.
Chelsea start their public schedule against Western Sydney Wanderers on 28 July. They then face Tottenham in Sydney before continuing the tour in Asia.
The Blues begin their Premier League campaign away at Fulham on 24 August. Alonso will use every available session and friendly to prepare a squad still returning in stages from the World Cup.
