CONTE AND SOUTHGATE
There was a notable special guest at Chelsea's Cobham
training ground on Thursday, as England manager Gareth Southgate dropped in to
watch how the Premier League leaders prepare.
Southgate, whose side return to action next month with a
tough friendly away to world champions Germany before a World Cup qualifer at
home to Lithuania, was warmly welcomed by Chelsea boss Antonio Conte.
Another man pleased to see Southgate was Nathaniel Chalobah,
whose hopes of a senior call-up may be boosted by the friendly handshake he
shared with Southgate.
He has closer ties to Chelsea than with many other Premier
League clubs through Steve Holland, Southgate's assistant manager who will
continue in his role as a coach at Stamford Bridge until the summer.
With Southgate's next fixtures coming up soon, he will be
keen to get as much information on English players as possible, as well as
picking up tips from Conte, whose team are eight points clear at the top of the
Premier League.
One English player very much involved in the action,
however, was one not available to Southgate - John Terry was in full flow,
going into tackles as full-blooded as he would for any game.
Terry, 36, retired from England duty in 2012 amid
controversy, and rejected calls to return to the team under Southgate's
predecessor, Sam Allardyce.
It was a competitive training session all round - Nathan Ake
and Michy Batshuayi gettin involved in a tussle for the ball in one drill, with
Ake tugging on the Belgian forward's bib.
Chelsea were preparing for their FA Cup fifth round tie on
Saturday, when they take on Wolves, the Championship side having conquered
Liverpool in round four.
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