Chelsea have named five Nigerian players in their 28-man squad for the 2024 USA pre-season tour.

The five Nigerian players are Fulham old boy Tosin Adarabioyo, midfielders Carney Chukwuemeka and Lesley Ugochukwu while there were also spots for Noni Madueke and young winger Tyrique George.

Tosin has Wesley Fofana, Axel Disasi, Benoit Badiashile to compete for a place in Enzo Maresca's starting lineup next season and has to impress in the upcoming friendly games to do so.

Chukwuemeka and Ugochukwu have been linked with AC Milan and Everton respectively but this tour presents an opportunity for them to show they deserve to stay at Stamford Bridge in the forthcoming campaign.

The same goes for Madueke who has been linked with Newcastle and will have to show his form at the end of last season wasn't a flash in the pan in the upcoming games.

While there are enough senior forwards for Maresca to choose from, Chelsea have a busy schedule in the coming campaign which could pave the way for younger players like George to get experience playing first team football under their belt.

Thus, the 18-year-old will be hoping to impress in the coming weeks in a bid to be given the chance to play for the first team next season.

Chelsea will start their preseason games in the United States with a tie against Wrexham on Wednesday before facing Celtic, Club America, Manchester City and Real Madrid.

They open their Premier League campaign with a mouth-watering clash against Manchester City at Stamford Bridge on August 18.

Abdulkareem Abdulhamid

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