Chelsea begin their pre-season tour of Australia and Asia on Tuesday when they face Western Sydney Wanderers.
The Blues arrived in Australia over the weekend and will also face Tottenham Hotspur, Juventus, AC Milan and Johor Darul Ta’zim before they begin their Premier League campaign with a trip to face west London rivals Fulham in late August.
Xabi Alonso only took charge of the London side earlier this month, but the Spaniard will expect to see his side look sharp in pre-season ahead of the start of the upcoming campaign.
In the meantime, though, it has emerged that Chelsea are eyeing a shock move to sign an England international with huge experience.
As reported by Fabrizio Romano, the Blues are currently leading the race to sign midfielder Jordan Henderson from west London rivals Brentford.
Henderson made nearly 500 appearances for Liverpool (Photo: Alamy)
It is claimed that Chelsea have identified the 36-year-old as a surprise target as they look to bolster Alonso’s squad in midfield this summer.
Henderson joined the Bees from Dutch side Ajax last summer, having previously had a spell in Saudi Arabia with Al-Ettifaq before moving to Amsterdam.
The midfielder previously played for Sunderland and also spent 12 years at Liverpool, playing more than 490 times for the Reds in all competitions during his time on Merseyside.
Romano claims that Chelsea are currently leading two other clubs in the race to sign the England international, who has over a year left on his current contract but would be allowed to leave as a free agent this summer.
Henderson – who featured for England at the World Cup in North America this summer – is said to be open to the idea of a move to Stamford Bridge.