Xabi Alonso has started work at Chelsea, and the first decisions in the Xabi Alonso summer transfer window are already around Enzo Fernandez and Cole Palmer. Chelsea are heading into a crucial Premier League season without European football, so the manager’s choices now go straight to the heart of the rebuild.
Alonso’s first Chelsea calls
The immediate task is simple to state and hard to solve: Chelsea need to decide which players stay central and which positions need outside help. Granit Xhaka from Sunderland is being pursued as a sign of backing for Alonso, while Chelsea are also in talks to sign Pep Chavarria from Rayo Vallecano.
That is happening while Marc Cucurella has gone to Real Madrid. If Alonso decides the left-back role can be covered from within, Jorrel Hato could benefit and Chelsea would avoid another move in that area. If not, Chavarria becomes more than a target; he becomes part of the structure Alonso is trying to build.
Enzo Fernandez and Chelsea
Enzo Fernandez is the trickier call. Chelsea paid £107m to Benfica for him in 2023, but in April he was dropped for two games after publicly angling for a move away from West London. That sequence leaves Chelsea with a clear choice: keep a costly midfielder as part of the core, or entertain the idea of a sale only if the right offer arrives.
The size of that decision sits inside the club’s wider recruitment plan. Chelsea say they want a balance between ready-made starters and young talent, and that balance matters more now because they have no European schedule to absorb rotation or hide a slow start.
Cole Palmer and Thomas Tuchel
Cole Palmer is being treated differently. Internally, Chelsea view him as one of their few untouchable assets, even after Thomas Tuchel left him at home this summer and said he was not as decisive or influential as he was in the last seasons. For Chelsea, that clash is the cleanest test of what Alonso will value: reputation, recent output, or long-term status.
Alonso also inherits a club that has already admitted a process of “self-reflection” after the sacking of Liam Rosenior. Supporters have been waiting for a more settled direction, and the next month of transfer calls will show whether Chelsea are building around Palmer and Fernandez or treating both as movable parts in the same summer reset.
