If Enzo Maresca was looking for a quiet start to life at Chelsea, things could not have gone much worse.
The Blues landed Stateside on Tuesday for their two-week pre-season tour of the US, and he already has multiple issues to deal with.
Stability has rarely been a word associated with Chelsea, who have switched managers and players without hesitation over the past two decades, and Maresca has overseen an all-too familiar chaotic week at Stamford Bridge.
The initial signs had been positive, with players not involved at Euro 2024 or the Copa America returning to training earlier this month and quickly taking a liking for Maresca’s methods.
Those first few days were bliss for the Italian boss. Then it all went badly wrong.
Following Argentina’s Copa America triumph, they partied on the team bus and proceeded to sing an offensive song aimed at France’s black players.
The song – which was filmed by Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez – has been branded ‘racist’ by the French Football Federation who swiftly launched a complaint, and it did not go down well back in west London either.
Fernandez’s team-mate Wesley Fofana labelled the chant ‘uninhibited racism’ and unfollowed the £107m star on Instagram. Two other Chelsea players, Malo Gusto and Axel Disasi, followed suit.
Chelsea striker David Datro Fofana called on football to ‘take the fight against racism seriously’, but Fernandez did receive support from Nicolas Jackson as the forward posted a bizarre video of Fernandez playing with a black child.
Jackson’s stance signals a split in the dressing room, which Maresca will need to repair quickly.
Chelsea responded by issuing a statement condemning ‘all forms of discriminatory behaviour’ while Fernandez has since apologised for his actions and insisted he is not racist.
However, this may not be enough to get his team-mates back on side, and he was thrust back into the spotlight when he was paraded at his former club River Plate, only for the whole stadium to start singing the offensive chant again.
Fernandez is likely to be fined by Chelsea and could be handed a ban of up to 12 matches if the FA decide to investigate and punish him for his behaviour.
In the meantime, Maresca will undoubtedly face some awkward questions on Fernandez, and it will be difficult for him to convince fans and the media that his players are all signing from the same hymn sheet.
Maresca’s cause to create a harmonious atmosphere at the club has also not been helped by the decision to leave academy graduate Trevoh Chalobah back in the UK.
Chalobah has been at Chelsea since he was nine years old and is a popular member of the squad who finished last season strongly.
But he has now been deemed surplus to requirements and looks set to leave Stamford Bridge this summer.
Chelsea have splashed the cash over the last two years bringing in players for lucrative fees, but it has come at the cost of losing homegrown talent such as Mason Mount, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
Chalobah looks set to be the next name to add to that list, and with each player that his shown the exit door, fans may be starting to feel more disconnected from the club.
Maresca evidently has enough problems off the pitch, but attention will soon turn to how his team perform on it.
Chelsea finished sixth in the Premier League last season, but flattered to deceive for long periods of the campaign, and this led to Mauricio Pochettino parting ways with the club at the end of the campaign.
Maresca will want to prove that he has made an instant impact, but Chelsea’s schedule in the US is far from straightforward.
They are due to play five matches in five different cities over the next fortnight, racking up 13,000 air miles from London as they go.
It all starts in the early hours of Thursday morning (UK time) when they face Wrexham in California.
They will then head on to Notre Dame, Indiana, to take on Celtic, followed by a trip to Atlanta where they will meet Club America.
The tour concludes with matches against Manchester City in Colombus, Ohio, and Real Madrid in Charlotte, North Carolina.
By the end of the brutal trip, Maresca should have a good idea of how his team is shaping up ahead of their opening Premier League clash with City on August 18.
But being Chelsea manager is so much more than just what happens on the pitch, and Maresca has quickly found that out.
Can he unite the dressing room amid the racism storm surrounding Fernandez? Will any more homegrown players be shown the exit door?
These are the challenges Marecsa must overcome if he is to get Chelsea back on track after a tumultuous start to pre-season.
