Chelsea news: Opinion – Club World Cup a ‘chance for a memorable summer’

We are stepping into a bit of the unknown. Supporters, players and management would usually expect to be on the beach this month instead of focusing on a full-blown club tournament.

Combine concerns over player fitness with the feeling the Club World Cup does not rank as highly as Fifa might wish – at least not yet – and one might not be surprised fans are not as excited as they are when in the hunt for traditional trophies.

That is certainly not the case in the United States, however, where Chelsea have a huge, fanatical fanbase spread across dozens of supporters’ clubs, all of whom are preparing for the Blues’ first competitive fixtures on the continent.

Should Chelsea progress to the latter stages, supporters everywhere else are sure to catch up. A trophy is a trophy after all – and as former winners, there is pride to play for.

A large squad will certainly help and it will be interesting to see how strongly Enzo Maresca goes with his selections, a la his approach to the Conference League.

In terms of chances of success, failing to negotiate final fees for Jamie Gittens and especially Mike Maignan to join in time has not helped.

However, the arrival of Liam Delap does and this will take some pressure off Nicolas Jackson. Midfielder Andrey Santos, who was a revelation on loan at Strasbourg, feels like a new signing too and could see Maresca test his depth in the position early.

Chelsea will be relieved their first game will be taking place indoors in Atlanta, but their other two group games will be in the Philadelphia heat, including against Brazilian side Flamengo. The pace of that game may provide an indication of how hard Maresca wishes to push his players.

Winning the tournament would be a huge boon – obviously from a prestige perspective, but also with close to £100m up for grabs in prize money.

With Uefa still to rule on Chelsea’s related party transactions over the sales of the women’s team and Stamford Bridge hotels, there is a chance for it to be a very memorable summer in the club’s history.

How things play out after the dust has settled in the USA is another matter.

Find more from Ross Mooring at Chelsea Fancast, external