Chelsea will depart for Australia and Asia on Friday as they embark on a five-game schedule. | OneFootball

The Xabi Alonso era is underway as Absolute Chelsea previews the pre-season tour of Australia and Asia. Video Credit: Absolute Chelsea

Chelsea will soon embark on their pre-season tour of Australia and Asia, which will see Xabi Alonso name his travelling squad.

After winning their two behind-closed-doors matches against Crawley Town and Bromley, Chelsea are in good stead to continue their preparations on the other side of the world.

They will make the 10,500+ mile trip to Sydney on Friday ahead of their opening game on July 28 against Western Sydney Wanderers.

That is the first of five matches for the Blues, before concluding against Real Sociedad at Stamford Bridge on August 15.

Alonso's travelling squad, which is set to include Joao Pedro, Cole Palmer and Estevao, will likely be confirmed once the Blues have begun their journey.

Several players will be absent after their World Cup involvement, including new signing Morgan Rogers, as they begin their three-week break before reporting back for pre-season duty.

As is the norm during pre-season, players from the academy join up with the squad to bulk up the numbers. It will not only be the first-teamers looking to impress the new manager, Alonso.

Ahead of Chelsea taking off for Australia, The Secret Scout, informed on academy ongoings, has revealed seven academy players who will join the tour.

Calvin Diakite, Mahdi Nicol-Jazuli, Reggie Walsh, Landon Emenalo, Olutayo Subuloye, Ryan Kavuma-McQueen and Reggie Watson are the seven players who will be on the plane with Alonso's first-team squad.

Several other highly-rated academy stars have not been selected. However, it's reported they are down to their futures being resolved, including Shim Mheuka heading out on loan.

It's suggested that Alonso has already 'been impressed with the quality' of the youngsters, which bodes well for the new season, even if there are a limited number of minutes to go around following Chelsea's failure to qualify for European football.

Chelsea will play six matches before they begin their 2026/27 Premier League campaign on August 24, with their opener against Fulham at Craven Cottage.

Alonso's side will face Western Sydney Wanderers, Spurs, Juventus, AC Milan and Johor Darul Ta'zim whilst in Australia and Asia.

They will host Real Sociedad in west London nine days before the main event gets underway.

By the time Chelsea host the Spanish side in the English capital, they will have their full squad available. The late returnees following the World Cup in the United States are set to join up in the week leading up to the home fixture.