Landon Emenalo has emerged as the breakout star of Chelsea's pre-season tour, with the 18-year-old son of former technical director Michael Emenalo playing more minutes than any other player in the club's first two behind-closed-doors friendlies. Operating at left-back – effectively filling the void left by Marc Cucurella's move to Real Madrid – Emenalo is now pushing for a first-team debut under new boss Xabi Alonso, who has taken a 26-man squad to Australia for matches against Western Sydney Wanderers and Tottenham.
"I hope I can make my mark on the first team and leave a good impression," Emenalo said in a video for a post-season training camp organised by his agency. "Then, for the season in general, I think I need to be playing in a professional environment because I think I have played enough youth football for a lifetime."
“Landon Emenalo shines as Chelsea's breakout star on pre-season tour; new signing attracts attention”
Emenalo first trained with Chelsea's first team under Mauricio Pochettino in 2023 and is now working under his fourth permanent manager. He has carried out extensive video analysis of Alonso's methods in a bid to impress. Alongside him on tour are two other academy defenders: 17-year-old Diakite, the youngest in the squad and often compared to Marc Guehi, and 18-year-old Subuloye, who captained Chelsea Under-18s to a 5-1 national final victory over Manchester City.
Meanwhile, Chelsea's pre-season has also been enlivened by an exciting new signing who has already been attracting plenty of attention, according to the club. The new talent could be unleashed this week before his transfer is officially completed, offering Alonso another option as he shapes his squad for the coming season.
The academy players, however, could return to London during the Asian leg of the tour if players involved at the World Cup rejoin the squad. For now, Emenalo is arguably the most first-team-ready academy player at Cobham yet to make his Chelsea debut, and he has a strong chance of featuring in front of crowds in Australia.