The trio arrived to great fanfare from a group of Chelsea fans who had won competitions to be there and meet their heroes in the Japanese capital on Saturday.

It is Lampard’s third time in Japan with Chelsea, and with the backdrop of our new away kit the boss began by explaining what it was like to visit with the Blues.

‘The main feeling here always is the huge support Chelsea have, and generally in Japan the warm welcome people give us,’ he said. ‘Everybody is so friendly and makes us feel at home. We love coming here.’

That was a sentiment echoed by David Luiz who as usual was a huge hit with the Chelsea support present.

‘The Japanese fans are so special,’ beamed the Brazilian.

‘I had the opportunity to meet some in London. They travelled all the way to meet me there, just to give me a hug or to take a picture. It’s great to have this kind of love and support from them. It’s not easy to travel all that way to see your idols and I just appreciate a lot the sacrifice they make for us.’

Pulisic was asked about his first week at Chelsea since meeting up with the squad in Japan on Monday, and later during the Q & A attention turned to the new Nike Mercurial Vapor boots our American star is sporting.

‘I have been with Mercurial for as long as I can remember,’ said Pulisic. ‘I started very young.

‘I was lucky enough to help Nike design this boot and I love the colours. There is Chelsea blue, the American flag and I really like the overall design. It’s really clean.'

Lampard and the players then signed shirts and the final word of the event was left to the boss when asked for a closing message for the locals.

‘A huge thank you for welcoming us to Japan. We really appreciate it, and more than that we appreciate the support we feel in London from the other side of the world.

‘We know even though you are far in terms of distance, you are always very close and we are very thankful for that. We will do our best to have a successful season this year.’