Chelsea chief executive Ron Gourlay expecting three new additions to the squad by July

Chelsea CEO Ron Gourlay (GOAL.com/Bima Said)

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Chelsea chief executive Ron Gourlay has revealed the club will be taking a full strength squad on their tour of Asia as well as three new signings.

The Blues will play a Thai All Star XI in Bangkok between games in Malaysia and Hong Kong in July.

Gourlay told the club’s official website at a press conference in Thailand: “I am delighted to be bringing the team here next month. The first question I am asked is “Are you bringing your first team when you come to Bangkok?”. The answer to that is definitely yes, so it will be the full squad of players.

“There will be two or three new players in the team and we will certainly be bringing our strongest team.

“It’s been a long time since we were here in Bangkok though we did play in Asia-Pacific three years ago. The team are very much looking forward to coming here. One or two of the players have been here but the majority of the team haven’t been. They are really looking forward to it.”

The chief executive outlined the difficulties in delivering football to the club’s huge following in Asia after the popularity soared in the region since the takeover in 2003 by Roman Abramovich.

He said:” We have a massive, massive fan base here in Asia. Chelsea Football Club has changed dramatically since Mr Abramovich took over the club in 2003. We have amassed a massive fan base here in Asia-Pacific, and our model is very much how do we engage with that fan base here as well as in the rest of the world?

‘We have a 42,000 stadium back in England and it’s very difficult to have over 100 million fans visit us in London,so we’ve got to bring the football club to you and ‘Here to Play, Here to Stay’ is the model I believe we can deliver and repay the fantastic support we have here in Bangkok, Thailand and Asia-Pacific.”

Gourlay admitted the club need to bounce back after a disappointing season and stated the importance of the games against quality opposition in Asia to prepare the team for the coming campaign.

He said: “The other thing for me is that while last season wasn’t our best season, we did the Double the year before, and it is very important that we prepare the team in the best possible manner.

“It is not just about the summer tour, it is about ensuring we have the right facilities, the right quality of opposition, and last time we visited Asia we got three very difficult games, to make sure we prepare in the best possible way for what will undoubtedly be a very challenging season, so that’s very important.”