Photo: Chelsea FC

Chelsea kick-started the pre-season with an 8-2 against Fulham and the Blues will fly to Beijing on Tuesday for the pre-season proper.

Chelsea will spend much of their pre-season in the Far East as they travel to China and Singapore for showcase friendlies against some of Europe’s top clubs.

July 22 – Arsenal (Bird’s Nest Stadium)

July 25 – Bayern Munich (Signapore – International Champions Cup)

July 29 – Inter Milan (Singapore – International Champions Cup)

Aug 6 – Arsenal (Wembley – Community Shield)

So far, every player is in camp apart from Nemanja Matic and Diego Costa who might both depart the club this summer.

Chelsea’s first friendly game in the tour will be against Arsenal at Beijing’s Bird’s Nest, the main venue for the 2008 Olympic Games. The stadium is also known as the Beijing National Stadium, and it holds 80,000 fans and is sure to create a raucous atmosphere for the visit of two of England’s biggest clubs.