Antonio Conte may not have been able to work on Kurt Zouma’s physical attributes when he first took over at Chelsea, but he was able to start training the central defender’s brain.

It was largely overlooked at the time, but it was symbolic of Conte’s approach that he chose to take Zouma on Chelsea’s pre-season tour of America despite the fact the Frenchman was still injured and had not played since February.

It would not have been at all surprising had Zouma been spared the long distance travel to continue his rehabilitation at Chelsea’s Cobham training ground.

But as part of his efforts to rebuild team spirit and a sense of togetherness, Conte took Zouma to America to show that he was very much part of his long-term plans.