The Chelsea head coach and his squad arrived in Chapel Hill last night as the club's pre-season tour of the USA got underway.

A morning training training session was held before the Argentine made the short journey to the Kenan Memorial Stadium to face the media ahead of tomorrow night's game against League Two side Wrexham.

The friendly is Chelsea's first of pre-season and hands Pochettino his first opportunity to assess the players in competitive action. But those in his young squad have already made their mark on the 51-year-old.

‘We have a young squad but the players are showing the commitment and working so well,' Pochettino explained.

'We are so happy in the way they are working, but we still need to work in this pre-season to build a strong squad and evolve the way we play, the concepts, and the things we expect from them.

'It’s always about the balance and the mentality. Tomorrow is going to be opportunity to see the young guys to play against a tough team. It will be a chance for them to show they are ready to play for a club like us. No pressure, but they need to show.’

Two players that may feature against tomorrow are Colwill and Mudryk. The former returned to Chelsea this summer after a loan spell at Brighton while the former is preparing for his first full campaign in blue following a January switch from Shakhtar Donetsk.

‘I spoke with all the players, a lot, Mudryk also because he was in Barcelona for a few days and we exchanged messages,' explained Pochettino.

'We spoke in the last few days and I’ve found a really good kid. He is still young with a massive potential. The most important thing is that we need to earn the trust and confidence in us.

'We are building the relationship with him and with different players. They need know us and how we act in every situation. We’ve had many chats and I’m happy about that.'

‘With Levi, we have talked. A really nice chat. It’s private what we talked about, like with all the players.

'It’s important they know what we think, that the competition is going to be tough but they can challenge for that and can have the possibility if they deserve to be in the starting XI because football is about competing.

'They understood our words and we understood what they wanted to translate to us. All is clear and we are so happy with all the players we have here in the USA. Tomorrow we start to compete and that is the reality and truth. They need to speak there on the pitch.’

With the summer transfer window open, Pochettino was inevitably asked about potential additions to the first-team squad. He unsurprisingly did not want to discuss specific targets, but did outline what he wants from potential additions.

‘I want the right profiles and the right players to arrive that improve the squad. We need to work really hard on the targets we have and if they arrive today, it’s better than tomorrow, but we know it’s difficult.’