I have really enjoyed my time Stateside. This is the second year in a row that I have travelled out with the club as an ambassador and it has been great to meet so many of the fans across the different states.

I am always amazed at how passionate and how knowledgeable the U.S. fans are. They follow the Premier League intensely and you can see that in the number of fans coming out to our games, with more than 70,000 at the Manchester City match.

I have been going to fan events and they are absolutely packed with supporters. When you speak to them, they are reminiscing about games that were eight, nine, ten years ago. These are full-on Chelsea fans who know an awful lot about the club.

As a player, I was always aware and conscious of how much time, money and effort our fans put into supporting Chelsea and the current squad have been coming over to meet fans and sign autographs after training and matches, which is great to see as they do look up to you as players.

The current players will also be thinking about getting ready for a huge season ahead and trying to learn the new head coach’s style of play, whereas I have the time now that I have retired to get to know the fans, which has been really nice.

Chelsea as a football club are a huge brand and have fans across the world so to be able to visit fans in these different areas is so special.

The club have also been able to make a mark out in the community too.

On my first full day here, I visited one of the StationSoccer sites where they have installed 4G pitches for children and adults close to train stations so they are readily accessible.

Because it is such a built-up place, the coaches were saying the kids would not be playing football if these pitches were not there so it is a really good scheme and Chelsea’s International Football Development coaches have been helping to put on sessions alongside Soccer in the Streets.

I went down there a couple of times and our coaches have been putting on some great sessions and it has been so nice to see the kids playing with smiles on their faces. I got involved in a couple of sessions and tried to pass on the odd tip!

We have also had some of the current players come down to different community initiatives, which is so important because they are the current stars and are the ones the youngsters really know, so as a player you have the opportunity to really impact these children.

I have also had the chance to watch several open training sessions and matches now and you can see just how hands-on Enzo Maresca is on the pitch. It is great to see he is so involved in everything they are doing and has a clear way he wants the team to play.

Without wanting to sound like I am speaking for him, these weeks are probably vitally important for him and the players as you can spend the whole day getting to know each other and working on the new way of playing and what he expects from his team.

I wasn’t in the USA for the first two games but at the Club America match, you could see the penny was dropping with the players and I thought Malo Gusto in the left-back position, where he moved into midfield in possession, played the position really well, and you could see other tactical aspects of the game coming to fruition.

It was also nice to see Willy Caballero again, as we obviously played together here. He was always class when we played together and is a brilliant character. It is always nice to bump into ex-teammates and friends.

I am optimistic heading into the new season. It is a young group so those experienced players have big roles to play. There is so much talent in the squad and you can see they are growing together.

Hopefully, those players who were new to the league last year and were getting used to the expectation levels at a huge club like Chelsea, and getting used to the Premier League and all the different teams.

They willl also be a year further down the line and they will know what to expect this year and, hopefully, the club are able to push on even further this season.