Dario Essugo captained Chelsea in Jakarta on Sunday (Picture: Getty Images) Chelsea youngster Dario Essugo admits it was a surprise to be handed the captain’s armband in a pre-season friendly on Sunday, but hopes it can inspire other young players at the club. The 21-year-old skippered a the Blues in their meeting with Malaysian side Johor Darul Ta’zim, which ended 3-3. Chelsea beat AC Milan 3-0 in a friendly on Saturday, so manager Xabi Alonso completely changed the starting line-up, but there were still plenty of recognisable names in it. Liam Delap, Nicolas Jackson and Estevao made up the front three, with the likes of Jamie Gittens, Tosin Adarabioyo and Geovany Quenda all starting as well. Get the latest transfer news every morning Sign up to our daily football newsletter for personalised updates on who your team is trying to sign and who won't be around next season. It was Essugo who got the nod as captain, having also worn the armband earlier in pre-season as well. The midfielder suggested his maturity has earned him the honour, hoping to show to other young players at the club that age is just a number. ‘For me it was a surprise but of course it’s a pleasure,’ the Portuguese prospect said. ‘I didn’t expect to be captain at this age and at this big club so for me it’s just a pleasure and I enjoyed it a lot. Essugo will be hoping for more first team opportunities this season (Picture: Getty Images) ‘For me it means everything because I didn’t expect it. It’s a message for me and for all the players that it’s not about the age, but maybe it’s about maturity. It’s learning and staying positive.’ On how he feels he is developing at Chelsea, he said: ‘[I’ve learned] a lot because here we have a lot of big players, so I try to learn from everyone. I think that’s it, learning from my teammates and enjoy.’ Essugo was signed from Sporting last year in a deal worth £18.5 million, but had little impact in his first season at Stamford Bridge. Essugo has a lot of competition in Chelsea’s midfield (Picture: REUTERS) The Portugal Under-21 international made just three Premier League appearances and five in total over the campaign. He will be hoping that the faith Alonso has shown in him over pre-season is a sign of more action to come when the new season gets underway later this month. Chelsea have one more summer friendly, against Real Sociedad on Saturday, before starting their Premier League campaign at Fulham on August 24. Alonso spoke after the 3-0 win over AC Milan of using multiple systems and attempting to be as unpredictable as possible. Xabi Alonso is already mixing things up at Chelsea (Picture: Getty Images) The Spaniard has played a back three and back four over the summer so far. ‘We want to be versatile in our approach and system,’ he said. ‘I think we have the players to adapt to different ones because they understand how to support each other. ‘The principles are the same but the movements can change; we need to be unpredictable, we want to be flexible, and we want to have a threat. The system is just a picture; you need to move, rotate and create dynamics [in the team] and that is when the picture becomes a movie. ‘We are not just sticking to one idea and the more options that we have, the better team we will be.’ Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source