Chelsea's Marc Cucurella is excited to return to the US this summer, with one fixture set to be a particular highlight for the defender.

The Blues' preparations for the 2024/25 campaign will reach new levels in late July as we head across the Atlantic to visit five cities across five different states.

Wrexham, Celtic, Club America, Manchester City and Real Madrid will provide us with high-quality opposition in the space of just under two weeks.

Cucurella jetted out on a US Tour with Chelsea for the first time last summer and is already looking forward to returning stateside next month.

‘I’m very excited about going back to USA, I liked it last year,' he said. 'I think it's a really good experience for us as players.

‘We visit different cities and we can stay near all the fans we have in America, so I think it's good for everyone.’

The full-back is particularly looking forward to a meeting with newly-crowned Mexican champions Club America in Atlanta, our third game of the tour.

Our Spanish international knows all about how passionate Hispanic supporters can be and is expecting an electrifying atmosphere.

‘I think the Hispanic fans are amazing,’ he added. ‘Club America is a really good club, they have a lot of fans. The difference [from other football supporters] is Spanish or Hispanic fans, they are crazy.

‘I think they live 24 hours a day for the football and for them it's like every day is football, football, football.

‘It will be a really passionate crowd, for sure. They love to support their team. They love to travel with the team. Hopefully we will have a really good atmosphere and we can play a big game.’

That match will take place in the 71,000-capacity Mercedes-Benz Stadium where the Blues visited last year for a 1-1 draw with Newcastle.

Cucurella played that day and both the venue and city clearly left an impression on the Spaniard.

‘Atlanta is a very nice stadium. I think it's one of the best stadiums I have ever played in. It's really nice, so I'm excited to play another game there.

‘I think in Atlanta [last year] we had one morning off and we were able to walk around there and I remember thinking that it's really nice. Maybe this time we’ll have a full day off and we can explore more.’

Chelsea’s USA Tour 2024