Yet for Trevoh Chalobah, the contest will forever be memorable for a different reason. It was the game he captained Chelsea for the first time at senior level.

‘It was a very different feeling, something that I haven’t experienced before,’ Chalobah explains at our team hotel in Philadelphia, the second stop on our summer tour of the USA. ‘I didn’t know until I came into the dressing room and saw the armband next to my name.

‘To have the chance to captain my boyhood club, to lead the boys out in front of a big crowd, it was amazing.’

The academy graduate only celebrated his 24th birthday at the start of this month yet was the oldest player in the Chelsea side that walked out in Chapel Hill to face Wrexham.

The makeover of the first-team squad this summer has resulted in Chalobah, who captained Chelsea and England at youth level, becoming one of the more experienced heads in the Blues changing room. It is a role he has quickly settled into.

‘It’s crazy how the years are going by,’ the centre-back says with a smile. ‘I’m into my third season and now one of the more senior players in this young squad.

‘To have that responsibility is good, and it is important support the younger players and make them feel comfortable in the squad. I know what that feels like. I was once in their boots.’

It was during the summer of 2021 that Chalobah forced his way into the first-team squad. He has since made more than 60 first-team appearances for the club he joined at the age of eight and lifted the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup.

Chalobah has the experience of what is required to ensure Chelsea compete and win at the highest level. And that knowledge is something he is hoping to pass on to the younger members of the squad.

‘I think it’s important that I help set the standards,’ he says. 'I know the club inside out and I hope for the younger players that I can be leader and someone they feel comfortable to talk to.

‘But I’m still young as well, so there will be things that I can learn from them too. Sticking together like that is what we need to do this season. We’re going to need everyone.

‘The new players have settled in well. That is what is good about this group, everyone is made to feel welcome. It is one of the most important things, to make people feel comfortable off the pitch. And when you go onto the pitch, you then have that connection.’

For both players and staff, the club’s tour of the USA is providing the perfect opportunity to strengthen relationships. But vital – and unrelenting – work is also being undertaken on the training pitches to ensure Chelsea are equipped for the season ahead.

‘Training has been so tough; the first week alone was crazy,’ Chalobah says. ‘It’s definitely what we need, though, if we’re going to compete in the Premier League.

‘There are certain levels we didn’t reach physically and that is something the new manager wants to change this year. So while it has been hard, it’s also been exciting work because we know it is going to benefit us in the season.

‘In football, there is always a next time, there is always a next season. It’s all about the preparation and it is important that we work well now. I think it is an important season for us but also for the whole club. We all want to achieve our goals.’