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Belgium international Eden Hazard could be on the same field as La Liga giants Barcelona soon if talks between his Premier League team, Chelsea, and the Camp Nou side bear fruits. The Blues are making pre-season plans in Asia as they aim to improve their schedule for the manager Maurizio Sarri ahead of next season.
Chelsea are in talks to play two friendlies in Japan this summer, with Barcelona and J-League side Kawasaki Frontale the options for the 2017 Premier League champions to play against, according to Goal. Blues manager Maurizio Sarri previously complained about the amount of travel this pre-season, with the Londoners heading to Australia and then back to Europe to play friendlies in France and Ireland – the last of which saw them lose on penalties to London rival, Arsenal, after a 1-1 draw in Dublin.
The Blues are now looking to make life easier for their coach, whose recent defeat to Man City on penalties and win against Tottenham have eased fears that he was soon to lose his job. The Omiya Stadium in Saitama is one venue being discussed, which houses 15,500, as the Blues look to also include some commercial activities with one of their main sponsors, Yokohama Tyres.
Maurizio Sarri’s team is also looking at having a training camp in Europe, with camps in Austria in several recent seasons proving popular among players. Their plans come outside of the International Champions Cup, which they have taken part in over recent seasons, giving the club more power to dictate their own schedule. An unorthodox end-of-season friendly has also been arranged with New England Revolution, which has been described as a ‘Game For Change’, as the Roman Abramovich led ‘Say No To Antisemitism’ campaign produces a marquee event with the MLS club. The campaign won Community Project of the Year prize at the London Football Awards on Thursday.
However, it remains to be seen if Sarri would be in charge when the pre-season games for the 2019/20 campaign kicks off, with the Italian under pressure to start improving the form of his team and get the players fully behind him following recent dramatic incidents. The latest of the saga at Stamford Bridge saw goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga refuse to be substituted during the Carabao Cup final, leading to the Spanish keeper getting dropped for Willy Caballero in the 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday.
Kepa was also fined a week’s wages which would be donated to the Chelsea Foundation as a result of his actions last Sunday at Wembley, as it also remains to be seen if he would be in the starting line-up when the Blues square up against neighbours, Fulham, in another league match this weekend. While Chelsea would be looking to maintain their hunt for a top four finish, Fulham will be hoping to get a result as their struggle to avoid relegation becomes bleak by the day – a 2-0 loss at Southampton led to the sack of Claudio Ranieri with Scott Parker put in his place in the interim.
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