Antonio Conte begins life as Chelsea manager this week as he attempts to revive the fortunes of the west London club.
The Blues will want to forget last season’s disaster after Jose Mourinho was sacked following the club’s worst ever start to a campaign.
Guus Hiddink was parachuted in to move the club clear from danger but it still proved to be the club’s worst performance since Roman Abramovich took control in 2003.
Chelsea went from being crowned champions in 2015 to finishing outside of the European places in 2016 as they prepare to welcome a new man to the helm.
Conte has taken a slightly extended break after initially declaring he would be arriving in England seven days after elimination from Euro 2016 with Italy.
Members of the Blues squad not involved in tournament football this summer were back in training at Cobham on Monday but the Italian was nowhere to be seen.
Watch as Antonio Conte bids farewell to Italy:
John Terry, Branislav Ivanovic, Nemanja Matic, Oscar and Diego Costa were among those working up a sweat in the gym and on the pitches in Surrey.
It is now understood that incoming manager Conte will be starting his new job on Wednesday and could then meet with the media on Thursday afternoon.
The Blues travel to Austria for the beginning of pre-season on Friday and take on Rapid Vienna on July 16 and WAC RZ Pellets on July 20 before embarking on a US tour.
Chelsea's friendlies in the International Champions Cup are against Liverpool, Real Madrid and AC Milan.
But what are the biggest issues facing Conte as he begins to rebuild the crumbling Roman empire and what will the next few weeks tell us about his vision for Chelsea?
We’ve take a look at the burning issues at Stamford Bridge as the Italian looks to get his house in order.
Picking a formation
It is no secret that Conte has favoured a 3-5-2 formation in recent years and has deployed the system to great effect with Italy and Juventus.
The new Blues coach certainly wants to play with two men up front and has signed Michy Batshuayi from Marseille to strengthen his attacking options at the sharp end.
Questions arise when you look further back, with Kalidou Koulibaly expected to arrive at centre-half to bolster the numbers in defence.
Branislav Ivanovic’s advancing years and ageing legs mean he is unlikely to be able to play in this formation while Baba Rahman has been linked with an exit.
Conte may decide to return to the 4-2-4 which he used with Bari and Siena as he sees the Premier League as requiring a more adventurous approach.
Ruling with an iron fist
One of the key factors behind Chelsea’s demise last term, according to Cesc Fabregas at least, was Mourinho had been too trusting with his players.
Fabregas admitted that the team had abused that trust and many arrived back from their extended summer holidays out of shape and unprepared for the campaign.
They won’t be living it up under Conte.
The new manager is reported to have warned his players to expected the hardest summer of their lives during this pre-season.
Hiddink’s laid-back approach was a hit with the players as they felt the pressure ease after Mourinho’s confrontational leadership.
Those that became accustomed to the Dutchman’s style will be getting a shock when they are running the hard yards for Conte in the next few weeks.
Sealing transfers
Chelsea have been linked with dozens of players in the past couple of months but have so far only snared one target.
Batshuayi signed in a £33million deal to strengthen Chelsea’s striking options as Conte looks to ease the burden on Diego Costa next season.
Alvaro Morata had been the club’s top priority this summer but now looks set to stay at Real Madrid after returning to Spain from Juventus.
Conte had wanted to sign his Italian compatriot Leonardo Bonucci but the chances of the defender leaving Juventus appear slim. Koulibaly is likely to arrive instead.
The new Chelsea boss became frustrated at a lack of spending power while at Juventus as he tried to take on Europe’s elite in the champions League.
“You can't eat in a €100 restaurant if you only have €10," he said.
With Abramovich’s millions burning a hole in his pocket, there will be no excuses on that front as he wields a hefty wallet in the transfer market this summer.
The only question, as is the case with Bonucci, is are the players he wants available. Pricing is not an issue.
Backroom staff
Chelsea are yet to confirm the full complexion of their new manager’s backroom team but we already most of the staff who will be occupying the bench next season.
Angelo Alessio is expected to continue his role as Conte’s right-hand man while another name who had been in the frame, Massimo Carrera, could now join Spartak Moscow.
His brother, Gianluca Conte, has been touted for a tactical analysis role.
Steve Holland, the current assistant first-team coach at Stamford Bridge, is expected to stay despite the influx of new staff at the west London club.
However, question marks remain over goalkeeping coach Christophe Lollichon after he fell out with Thibaut Courtois during a training session last term.
Conte would like to appoint Gianluca Spinelli to the role but had initially been met with resistance from Abramovich, who still trusts Lollichon.
Carlo Cudicini this week confirmed he would be returning to Chelsea but is expected to take up a role similar to that of former team-mate Paulo Ferreira.
