The location was The Ivy on The King’s Road. A glossy camera shoot underscored by South American music created to celebrate a club record signing.

A clean smile presented Enzo Fernandez to Chelsea supporters. A new superstar for a bold new era.

A few days later I was walking behind an Argentinian flag confidently wrapped around a fan on the Fulham Road, ready for the midfielder’s debut at the Bridge.

It is easy to forget now how Fernandez was presented by the club three years ago. This was not just another signing. This was a showpiece addition for a player who would soon dominate all forms of club marketing, rank high for shirt sales and be grouped in with the club’s supposed new ‘untouchable’ core.

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On Wednesday morning, fans awake to grimace at photos of Fernandez holding a Manchester City shirt. Not waiting for the pitch, the midfielder was already kissing his new badge and waxing lyrical about how big City was compared to his former club.

Fernandez has spent months making it clear what he wanted to do and what would likely happen. How reflective is it of his “legacy” at Chelsea that by the moment of his exit, many supporters were relieved to see him go?

There are many points to his story over the past three years. The ending to it feels the latest in a growing trend of significant players leaving in toxic fashion, joining a domestic rival and soon becoming a villain in the eyes of supporters.

Mason Mount and Kai Havertz are somewhat comparable, although both very different situations. But this trend may be a sign of two things: Chelsea’s lowering on the food chain and an inflated market forcing the elite of the league to trade more amongst each other.

Fernandez the on-pitch talent and Fernandez the character off it feel like different stories. On the pitch, he has proven a highly effective player. Capable of decisive goals, creative flair and driving force.

Off it, the fallout of his chanting following Argentina’s victory, which teammate Wesley Fofana labelled “uninhibited racism”. An overwhelming storm eventually blew over with Fofana accepting an apology. But it left a sour taste for supporters hurt by his video and reared deep questions about his judgement given his profile.

The manoeuvring behind the scenes to engineer a move, including his quotes about Enzo Maresca following the loss to PSG in March, only created growing headaches for the club and Liam Rosenior.

You do not need to be a deep insider to even guess that Fernandez’s growing unhappiness would’ve had a knock-on effect in the dressing room given his influence.

Standing completely still whilst facing the away end after the loss at Brighton felt like another public stunt, as was waving up at the travelling support on the final day of the season at Sunderland.

Everything has grown into the Fernandez story. Media have lapped it up and soon come to dominate much of the discourse.

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His judgement can also be questioned when hiring new agent Javier Pastore, who’s become a figure for mockery given Real Madrid’s swift rejection of his client shortly after he declared something was afoot.

As most top players, Fernandez eventually got his wish, and despite a nicely worded exit message to fans, the unrestrained switch to declare love for City is a timely reminder that in the current game, detaching yourself from individual players feels healthier. To clubs and players, this is all transactional. Fernandez will likely be saying the same when he turns up at Real Madrid in three years.

From a Chelsea perspective, there should be some introspection over this end.

Sure, within months of him signing, the noises of a future exit to Real Madrid were planted. And the nature of how he pushed for an exit at Benfica somewhat foreshadowed how he could act when the next transfer came about.

But it’s not impossible to keep players with long-term desires of moving somewhere.

Many will reference the times when Didier Drogba, Eden Hazard and even Frank could have moved on with much left to give. The obvious difference was that Chelsea were consistently winning.

It is hard not to think that had last season not ended so disastrously with the club cycling through three coaches, all sense of the progression of the previous season evaporated, and ongoing revolt by fans, the likes of Fernandez and Cucurella may have felt differently.

Players don’t have years to wait for some hypothetical future. They are cynically going to prioritise themselves. Fernandez was clearly the type of player that would push for a move eventually. Did that have to be this summer?

But there were limitations about his game that remain obvious. It took him almost two years to get going, many will pick out the times his performances severely dipped during times of hardship.

Off-the-ball, his lack of mobility and defensive skill has remained a headache that several coaches have had to work around.

His very early failed chase to stop Karim Adeyemi from scoring at Dortmund felt like a reflection of a problem that would come to define his time with the club. All leading to his final form at Chelsea where he was pushed very high, arguably causing an imbalance in midfield.

From Graham Potter through to Callum McFarlane, where Enzo is best positioned became a frequent conversation. Moises Caicedo was never the seamless midfield partner the club probably hoped when they signed both in 2023.

In truth, it became a balancing act of how you keep both in the lineup whilst maintaining their best strengths and limiting weaknesses.

His exit has come in a summer where Chelsea have signed Morgan Rogers to hopefully replace Fernandez’s goals, whilst his exit could eventually make way for the club to sign a far more suitable midfielder for Xabi Alonso.

His performative frustration on the pitch also became grating at times. Throwing his hands up in anger at teammates or softly falling to the floor when losing a physical duel to quickly cry at the ref. These are things I will not miss.

From the goals against Spurs, the leveller in Wroclaw, late equaliser at City, the many box-crashing moments and feats of creativity, there was reason to believe Fernandez could have produced more for Chelsea.

That story is for another timeline, not ours. And the fact many grew deeply tired of the saga and Chelsea have extracted a bigger fee than initially paid somewhat means the sale may be healthier in the long-term.

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Technically, Chelsea had done all they could to achieve a successful window.

It appeared that, despite deadline day shenanigans, the club had signed Lamine Camara from Monaco to complete a summer that addressed many lingering issues.

Then Monaco decided to turn heel and hit us over the head with a steel chair.

What makes this rug pull even harsher is that Folarin Balogun’s proposed move to Everton also collapsed, a deal that seemingly triggered Monaco’s change of heart.

We can all be angry at Monaco, just as we can all be angry at Enzo Fernandez. But there is also something to be said about leaving deals of this importance to the very end of a long summer. The need for a midfield addition did not suddenly spring up on deadline day, nor was it explicitly tied to Fernandez’s future, despite what the club continued to brief to the press.

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That made the sudden deadline-day U-turn following Fernandez’s exit all the more frustrating. Midfield was an area the club had been actively working on for months, stretching back to interest in Granit Xhaka and bids for Alex Scott. Leaving any deal to the closing hours always risks an unforeseen circumstance ruining your plans. However unprofessional Monaco were, the blunt reality is that Chelsea are left with glaring question marks in central midfield.

It also makes a complete mockery of the now-pointless deadline set over Enzo Fernandez. If the board were never going to stick to it, they should have never made noise about it in the first place. Instead of wasting time debating whether he stayed or left—with the latter always looking more likely—time could have been spent ensuring that another club’s last-minute change of heart wouldn’t prove so costly.

The reality is that the flawed operators who created the mess this summer attempted to clean up were always prone to fumbling something. Without Xabi Alonso’s appointment, one can only fear what the entire summer would have looked like.

Alonso certainly has midfield options, but solutions are a different matter.

In pure terms of squad depth and fixture volume, Chelsea should have enough cover to get by. Without Champions League football, Chelsea already have eight fewer matches on their calendar. Progression in the Carabao Cup adds only three extra fixtures before Christmas, making it 16 league games before 2027.

Yet, we know it might not be that simple. Chelsea’s options could yield the right combination if everything aligns, but they could quickly spark major headaches if not.

You have to hope Moises Caicedo’s fitness concerns are less severe than first feared. Reece James remains his strongest partner, permitting fitness on his end as well, though James’s suitability in that role without Caicedo alongside him remains a doubt. Romeo Lavia has started the season brightly, but his physical fragility will remain a constant anxiety until proven otherwise.

Then you have Valentin Barco and Jordan Henderson. Barco has raw talent, but perhaps lacks the specific skillset required to cover what is missing defensively, while Henderson’s age makes him primarily a rotational option. Meanwhile, the “emergency” option of Malo Gusto was already required by Game Week 2, and the results were far from convincing. This lack of senior depth could inadvertently hand Reggie Watson and Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli a path to first-team minutes after both impressed in pre-season.

The core concern is that among established senior names, Chelsea possess only two natural central midfielders following the loan exit of Dario Essugo—a decision that looks increasingly foolish. The earlier sale of Andrey Santos to Manchester United felt risky at the time, now, it makes even less sense.

These structural balance issues could be heavily exploited in the upcoming months, which will predictably force Alonso to compensate tactically. As long as the front three remain vibrant, it won’t be entirely crippling. However, it may give Chelsea the look of Jurgen Klopp’s early Liverpool teams, where the attack functioned as the primary form of defense.

The spacing between lines desperately needs work, and how Chelsea structurally cope out of possession feels like the defining question for their ceiling this season. Perhaps a deal for Camara gets revisited in January and by then, it may be non-negotiable depending on how the next few months play out.

Overall, the transfer window can be viewed as a net positive with a painful sting at the end. Chelsea had a massive task ahead of them in May after a disastrous campaign. It is quite an achievement that they managed to address so much through shrewd incomings and necessary departures in just three months.

The way the club surgically improved vulnerable positions, proactively addressed the goalkeeper situation, and clearly listened to the most elite operator in the organization is a huge plus. It would be flippant to condemn the entire window to the same walk of shame as 2024; this isn’t anywhere close to that level of dysfunction.

Fernandez’s exit placed an exclamation point on a necessary cultural reset. Fans do not want players who prefer to be elsewhere and risk sowing negativity behind the scenes. The fee is eye-watering, even if slightly less impactful in today’s inflated market. The shame of missing out on a replacement is that it leaves a sour taste, especially with him joining a direct Premier League rival where his presence will be felt regularly.

Fernandez getting his move was highly predictable given how the modern game operates. Last summer’s deadline saw Newcastle’s resolve broken over Alexander Isak; this summer, it was Chelsea’s turn. It proves once again that no matter how long a player’s contract or how stern a club appears, negotiations can always be forced, and high-profile players almost always get their way.

Xabi Alonso may well ponder why the club put up a front claiming deals for other midfielders were entirely separate from Fernandez’s future, or enacting a firm deadline to end speculation in the first place. It leaves open the question of whether he has been left short-handed in an area that could quickly become a major structural problem, which naturally lowers the overall mark for this window.

Although this was easily the strongest window under current ownership—admittedly not a high bar to clear—the whiff of farce around the closing hours will transport many supporters back to familiar Clearlake-era tomfoolery.

One can only hope the squad overcomes these depth fears and that this late stumble doesn’t undo an otherwise crucial reset.

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Life has changed a lot for Robert Sanchez over the past week.

On Monday you are starting your third consecutive season as Chelsea’s starting goalkeeper, with your club unrelenting in their assertion that they are content with the position for another window.

Even after you - somewhat in character - make another public error against Fulham, a discussion on The Athletic FC podcast only reaffirms that you’re well admired by the club’s goalkeeping coach Ben Roberts.

It seems that for another year, after literally investing in every other area of the squad, you will remain in place.

Then that David Ornstein tweet drops and your world changes.

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Emi Martinez is signed and by Saturday night, it is becoming clear not only has your starting position gone, you will likely be frozen out if you remain at the club.

Given Sanchez has been able to find himself at Chelsea in the prominent position he has for so long, he’d be forgiven for believing he was safe, especially with his buddy Roberts in position.

But Xabi Alonso’s arrival has seemingly changed the culture at Stamford Bridge. Whilst his predecessors have had to suck up the goalkeeping mishaps of previous season’s, Alonso’s patience ran out within one competitive game. Prompting the £7.5m move for a 33-year-old Emi Martinez from Aston Villa.

If the perception that the club’s transfer strategy had not significantly changed was already untenable, this blew it to smithereens.

Sanchez’s quite rapid downfall has arguably been due for multiple years at this point. And this is not an attack on the person or player, more on the club’s baffling treatment of such a defining position.

In 2023/24, Sanchez lost his spot under Mauricio Pochettino to Djordje Petrovic, when he was sent to Strasbourg, Sanchez returned to top spot with that former coach now at City, and subsequently lost his spot briefly to Filip Jorgensen. Something that repeated under Liam Rosenior around a year later. Many felt that Mike Penders was on course to permanently replace him this season under Alonso.

My writings on here have quite fairly reflected the at times bipolar journey of Sanchez at Chelsea. Whilst calamity has always been around the corner, there have been some genuine streaks of brilliance.

We can pick out a stretch towards the end of 2024/25 all the way up to the end of last year for inarguably his strongest run in goal. There were top saves, there were less glaring errors and sense of authority.

This good form came with dropping the risky short-passing game that has always exposed Sanchez’s vulnerabilities. Whilst his long passing has in moments, proven highly effective in springing attacks for Chelsea. Think of those passes over Nuno Mendes for Malo Gusto in New Jersey or the pass that led to Cole Palmer’s sumptuous chip at Molinuex in 2024.

But that quickly evaporated in 2026. Blame that on the changing of coaching staff, style of play or general chaos of last season, it quickly led to the worst of Sanchez returning.

That cementing the position which remains a fair one that he should’ve never have been given the first spot to begin with. And for whatever reason, the club have been wasting a lot of time.

You can pick out the best of Sanchez but he is symbolic of the flaw of recent years that those steaks are unreliable and prone to implosion.

For the elite display against PSG, you can pick out many disastrous errors. Charging out and being embarrassed by Erling Haaland at the Etihad, taking out Bryan Mbuemo recklessly to get sent off at Old Trafford, dropping the ball directly to a Wolves player from a corner, leading to Trevoh Chalobah’s priceless gaze towards him.

There have been the many moments not captured in statistics which fans can recall all too well. A loose pass or bad judgement gifting confidence to the opposition when they appear to have little. Or the frankly unexplained rush of blood acts that seem to startle even his own teammates.

Given his shot stopping has been deemed one of his strengths comparative to his weakness in other areas, it is ironic his final mistake for Chelsea saw Josh King’s effort confusingly evade his grasp. This was the final straw.

These were never going to be the characteristics of a top keeper, or one capable to solving what admittedly has been a problem position for so long. For what remains one of the two most defining positions in any team, it is reflective of the club’s mismanagement that it’s been allowed to seep into at times farce for so long.

It is a damning indictment that it has taken this long for the club to invest properly, even if just for a short-term fix. The justification of sticking with Sanchez in order to wait for Penders was always a flawed one given the cost his dips had throughout every season.

It was also a major issue that his competition in Filip Jorgensen was even poorer, and more error-prone, as Rosenior naively discovered at PSG back in March.

Sanchez is by no means the worst keeper in the world. He would probably be one of the strongest second-choices in truth given his now ample experience in the Premier League.

There is no such guarantee that Martinez or Penders will be perfect, but what I am confident is about is watching three years of Sanchez and knowing he is not the keeper worth persisting with.

It is a symbol of the quite bizarre BlueCo strategy across recent years which is hopefully now being put to pasture.

Maybe both Sanchez and Roberts assumed business as usual, and that another season of mediocrity would be acceptable. But it is some relief to many of us that early impressions reflect a turn towards seriousness.

Alonso is not here to wait around for hypothetical future’s or trusting in small circles of contacts. He will judged on results and he knows that another season of Sanchez threatens to undermine that ambition.

Sanchez has benefitted from the BlueCo way of running Chelsea. He has gained a top position, he has played tons of minutes and gained some nice memories and plaudits too.

Maybe as he saw previous peers recieve some pretty cold treatment with bomb squad’s and bans from facilities, that would never be him.

For many, that tap on the shoulder has taken far too long.

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At the end of a very positive evening for Xabi Alonso, little could overshadow his first win as Chelsea manager.

His £117m addition had scored, Cole Palmer was exceptional and the Blues had already gained three points on last season’s results. But something nearly did – or, at the very least, distracted from a moment of unity.

Enzo Fernandez appeared reserved, not showing much emotion or clapping the boisterous away end at Craven Cottage. After a few moments, he began to stroll away on his own from his teammates. Shortly before disappearing down the tunnel, he opted to take his shirt off and hand it to a fan in the home end.

Of course, this was all visible through the lenses of multiple phone cameras capturing his every movement.

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One of the defining questions facing Xabi Alonso when he arrived at Stamford Bridge this summer was whether he could reignite Cole Palmer.

Along with that, how does the £117m investment in Morgan Rogers alter the attacking trio, alongside a strong debut season for João Pedro?

Despite Monday’s slightly chaotic win over Fulham bringing with it some valid concerns, Alonso’s attack was an undeniable success.

Within a minute, João Pedro was off the mark, swiftly set up by Palmer. Before half-time, Morgan Rogers was wonderfully teed up by fellow debutant — and surprise No. 10 — Maxence Lacroix. Then, to add the icing on top, Palmer’s exceptional night was rewarded with the goal it deserved, coolly nutmegging Bernd Leno as Pedro returned the favour for his opener.

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The shame, if there is any, of Monday’s victory is that the win was not firmer or more dominant. It is by no means a new revelation that Robert Sanchez is error-prone, or that there are periods within games when players switch off and become prone to costly errors.

To expect the opening night to provide something akin to a finished article is insane. To expect that the lingering hangover from the disastrous last season and the many errors of BlueCo could be eliminated in three months was also unrealistic.

From the moment Sanchez clumsily allowed a pass to run under his foot before giving away a corner, Fulham were invited to attack and grow in confidence.

Allowing Josh King’s strike to somehow squirm under him reminded us of the worst of Sanchez. Even after Chelsea went 3-1 up, his parrying of Timothy Castagne’s effort straight into the path of Gonzalo Garcia turned the closing half an hour into a tense affair.

Though it is another plus for Alonso that a Chelsea group that was so easily beaten by a gust of wind last season proved resolute enough to see out a slim lead.

Despite the renewed optimism with Alonso and his new recruits, Monday night felt like the environment where Palmer conjured his ridiculous debut season in Royal Blue.

At his best, Palmer’s best outings for Chelsea feel best captured by Rudyard Kipling’s iconic poem: “If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs...” It was in that chaos under Mauricio Pochettino where Palmer so clearly thrived, and he did so with less consistency under Enzo Maresca.

What felt so encouraging about Alonso’s opener was how resoundingly influential Palmer was. At the centre of, or involved in, all three goals.

He set up the first, his sumptuous turn opened up the space to find Lacroix in the build-up to Rogers’ first for the club, before Palmer netted the third himself.

He was tying Fulham legs in knots as he danced on the edge of the box, seamlessly combined with those around him and simply took the game away from the opponent with no abandon.

It also feels helpful that all three of Alonso’s attack are very comfortable interchanging positions and roles throughout the game. Although Pedro remains a clear focal point, both Rogers and Palmer are comfortable finishing chances which gives Pedro ample opportunity to drop deeper where he can also do good.

That is the Palmer that became a rockstar in west London. But fears of either a hot streak or unsustainable heights were understandable after a barren run in 2024/25 and then an injury-impacted season where, on very few occasions, he was able to thrive in the chaos that ultimately destroyed Chelsea’s season.

Whether it is truly a case of Tuchel giving Chelsea a gift by omitting Palmer from his World Cup squad, offering the very unique opportunity for an actual rest; the arrival of an elite coaching mind capable of finding the right words or system to remind Palmer who he is; or the arrival of his pal Rogers.

Whatever it is, this Palmer turns Chelsea into a very different proposition. One that can impact and alter any scenario. One that breaks defensive opponents, spreads panic and unlocks space for others.

No one is going to say Chelsea were perfect on Monday night, but they were never going to be. Questions lingering over midfield balance — especially with no Moises Caicedo — the doubts over Enzo Fernandez’s future, or whether Alonso commits early to Mike Penders, remain unanswered.

But the reigniting of Palmer, along with such a prolific opening for Pedro and Rogers, instinctively feels far bigger. The problems of Monday should not be completely unsolvable. The fact the attacking trio already look so dangerous will be a warning shot for the rest of the Premier League.

As Man United stumbled, Spurs were battered and Liverpool remain imbalanced, the fact Chelsea won with Palmer reminding everyone how exceptional he can be couldn’t have been a better early gift for the Xabi Alonso era.

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DISCLAIMER: Due to the small matter of my honeymoon, I have had to pen this preview a couple of weeks earlier than usual. Meaning that I am guaranteed to miss some major moment that completely undermines everything below but lol, that’s the life of a Chelsea writer.

Winds in the East, there’s a mist coming in, like something is brewing and about to begin, can’t put me finger on what lies in store, but I fear what’s to happen, all happened before.

Xabi Alonso is a sole beacon of hope, hoping to keep the waves of apathy that engulfed a disastrous last campaign.

How - and more critically - IF he can do that will define whether this objectively ambitious appointment can revive a club in desperate need of a complete reset.

Has the summer actually achieved that?

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One of the first glimpses of Mike Penders in a Chelsea shirt saw him pick the ball out of the net, as Edon Zhegrova’s thunderous strike gave the Belgian little hope in Hong Kong’s pre-season friendly loss to Juventus.

This was the low-key introduction to Penders for the team many feel he is destined to feature for. From the moment Penders was signed by BlueCo via Genk and sent to Strasbourg, there has been glowing praise about what he could become.

Acclaimed former Chelsea coach Christophe Lollichon was full of praise for Penders when speaking to The Athletic in June.

“He has very good potential. He’s another guy from the Belgium school, like Courtois, like Koen Casteels. I spoke with Penders when Dunkirk played Strasbourg in the French Cup. I liked the conversation we had.

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When I envisage what type of character and mentality should encapsulate a Chelsea player, I think of Trevoh Chalobah.

Here is one of the clear success stories of the club’s shining academy: a tale of overcoming adversity and persistent obstacles even when the odds were not in his favour. And doing all of it with pure class and dignity.

Chalobah’s Chelsea story is one that could have easily been cut short in the summer of 2021. His path since is a great reminder of how fragile a career is and how much it can be swayed by good or bad fortune.

It was that summer when Chalobah returned from his third loan away from the club, having spent spells at Ipswich, Huddersfield and, finally, Lorient, where he impressed despite featuring in a struggling Ligue 1 side.

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Returning to the recently crowned European champions under Thomas Tuchel, it appeared a tall task to break into the first team. It was a summer that seemed destined to end with Jules Kounde arriving from Sevilla, with Chalobah likely to either be sold permanently or sent out on loan.

Even after impressing in pre-season, talk of a move to Valencia remained notable on the eve of the season. But, like any young player, all he wanted was a fair opportunity. Chalobah got that from Tuchel, and it led to one of the most wholesome moments seen at Stamford Bridge in many years.

Chalobah drilled a shot from distance to crown a joyful opening-day win over Crystal Palace. His brother, Nathaniel, had been part of Antonio Conte’s title-winning squad in 2016/17 and made appearances from the bench. Trevoh would now begin forging his own Chelsea story.

He soon became a regular feature in Tuchel’s back three, gaining valuable experience alongside the legendary Thiago Silva and the outstanding Antonio Rüdiger. Chalobah scored the opener in the superb 4-0 demolition of Juventus in November that season. He also started both domestic cup finals against Liverpool and, despite penalty heartbreak, helped keep clean sheets across 120 minutes in each.

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We have only had two televised looks at Xabi Alonso’s Chelsea.

How much pre-season actually matters is a conversation as old as time. My second Substack piece, stretching back to the summer of 2022, confronted this very question (if you’re interested).

A barmy nine-goal thriller against Western Sydney was followed by an even more baffling loss to 10-man Spurs at the same venue. In terms of performance, you would conclude that Saturday’s was the more coherent. This was undoubtedly intertwined with the far stronger line-up Alonso started and largely persisted with.

If not for the heroics of Anthony Kinsky, Chelsea could easily have scored three or four. But instead, a very sloppy 90+1 minute sucker punch from Richarlison leaves a sour taste.

All of this is subject to change, and the guaranteed flux of pre-season means that by the time Chelsea face Juventus in Hong Kong this Wednesday, a completely different combination of players will emerge.

But I do feel somewhat confident enough to put to keyboard some early musings that reflect both new hope and old problems.

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High turnovers

One of the biggest positives from the opening two games is Chelsea’s energy off the ball. They are trying to be extremely proactive both in and out of possession. Both games saw the quartet of João Pedro, Cole Palmer, Estêvão and a revitalised Jamie Gittens cause havoc in the final third.

With the overlapping and underlapping of new recruit Marco Palestra from the right as well, there is ample reason to believe Alonso could conjure a functioning frontline. Gittens’ performance has been a pleasant surprise, given how quickly his signing has been judged a failure and his future written off.

If anything else, pre-season should be a place for unexpected storylines to emerge and for players to grasp minutes they might not otherwise be afforded once the season kicks off.

As was the case under Mauricio Pochettino, and at times under Enzo Maresca, Chelsea have the tools to be a devastating counter-punching side, particularly one whose ability to win the ball back high up the pitch can elevate the impact of mercurial talents like Cole Palmer, whose greatest displays have always come in those situations.

Add into that mix a returning Nicolas Jackson (future permitting) and the eventual arrival of Morgan Rogers, and the early combinations appear promising.

The midfield void

Moises Caicedo has only just returned from holiday, and Jordan Henderson is also set to be confirmed, so some leeway is needed. But midfield feels like an area that, if not managed properly, could become a consistent flaw for Alonso.

It remains unclear who is going to partner Caicedo in the centre and what impact a returning Enzo Fernandez could have on any other plans, should he remain.

But the adverse effect of that energetic attack is the space left behind and the lack of protection in defence. Both Spurs goals, as well as those conceded against Sydney, exposed a very soft underbelly in Chelsea’s shape, allowing opponents relatively straightforward routes to create chances.

Even down to 10 men, Spurs still found opportunities to carve through the centre of Chelsea’s shape, causing a flustered backline to retreat.

This is why the persistent chatter over another midfield signing beyond Henderson is so pertinent. We have seen Frank Lampard, Pochettino and Maresca all struggle to balance unleashing the full capacity of Chelsea’s attacking talent while mitigating the threat of a lopsided shape.

Arne Slot paid the ultimate price for that miscalculation last season, and it is one that already feels like a vital balancing act for Alonso.

We need to start selling

This was apparent before July, but these two games have sadly reaffirmed the conclusions many of us had already reached.

Whilst they may feel like easy scapegoats, Tosin and Liam Delap are very hard to ignore. At both ends of the pitch there are tangible drawbacks that are not easily explained away by pre-season rustiness.

In attack, Chelsea lack a great deal of cohesion with Delap because of his technical shortcomings. In defence, it feels far too frequent to ignore how exposed Chelsea become with Tosin in the side.

Selling both does not fix everything, but they are two names, at opposite ends of the pitch and at different stages of their careers, who reflect the recruitment issues Chelsea are now trying to iron out.

The moves for Welbeck and Henderson are an extreme course correction from the pursuit of immaturity over experience, but they also reflect the inability of the limited experience Chelsea already possess to provide an acceptable level of performance.

Whilst all incomings get the pulse racing, we are now in August and there remains a batch of players still at the club. Beyond the pair mentioned, Filip Jorgensen, Malo Gusto, Wesley Fofana, Axel Disasi and Romeo Lavia all come to mind.

The financial necessity of selling to balance the books goes without saying, but the need for harmony within the group in a season without European football only heightens the urgency to dramatically trim down a bloated squad.

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Chelsea’s manic pre-season opener produced the usual overreactions. Defensive problems remained familiar, Joao Pedro again supplied the quality, but the biggest takeaway wasn’t either of those.

It was 16-year-old Reggie Watson completing the full 90 minutes while Romeo Lavia once again emerged with another injury concern.

The two Reggies (coming to BBC One this Christmas) in Watson and Walsh both showcased clever technique, tenacity and further evidence of how exceptional Cobham is.

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Watson looks far from someone worried about GCSEs. His tall, imposing and already athletic frame hints at a bright future in the senior game. Despite some understandable errors, lapses and loose touches on an awful Sydney turf, the fact he lasted the course already puts him ahead of Romeo Lavia.

Lavia’s contribution came after full-time, with Alonso revealing the Belgian had felt a hamstring issue, raising fears of another setback. That came after a game in which Watson, despite arriving without a single senior appearance, completed 90 minutes – something Lavia is yet to manage since signing for Chelsea in 2023.

Lavia has yet to complete 2,000 competitive minutes for Chelsea. For comparison, Andrey Santos completed 2,410 in 2025/26 despite starting just 13 of Chelsea’s 38 Premier League matches.

Back in 2025, I wrote a piece praising Lavia following some influential displays. Lavia has talent and, at times, we have witnessed what he can produce when available.

The obvious flaw is those moments are as unreliable as the internet inside Stamford Bridge.

For the fee paid for Lavia, Chelsea should expect, at the very least, a dependable midfielder who can provide durability across the course of a season. It might not be long until Dario Essugo takes that place in Alonso’s squad.

The pursuits of both Jordan Henderson and Alex Scott are not only a sign of the need for midfield reinforcement but also a form of rotational insurance against Lavia’s fitness issues. Although Reece James can play centrally, so too can Josh Acheampong.

Central midfield is definitely an area in need of attention for Alonso. Finding a suitable partner for Moises Caicedo is a problem Chelsea certainly have. For all of Enzo Fernández’s impact, he and Caicedo have never become the seamless partnership many foresaw.

Caicedo needs another deep-lying midfielder beside him to offer greater security to an area that has been exposed consistently. Given the signing of Morgan Rogers, the aim of restoring Cole Palmer to his best form and the rest of Chelsea’s attacking talent, a strong base behind them is essential.

You come back to Watson and wonder what the harm would be in him, or another academy talent, taking Lavia’s spot in the squad. Sure, he’s raw and will naturally experience the dips many youngsters face during their development. But if that means Chelsea have an option they can actually rely on to stay fit and be available, that’s always going to be the right path.

Whether it’s bad luck or something else, for all some may believe Lavia could offer in some hypothetical future, we have to confront the world as it is. He has failed to remain fit and that is a problem the club have had to mitigate every season.

The question is: who is going to buy Lavia from Chelsea given his growing injury record? It would almost certainly mean accepting a significant loss on the fee paid to Southampton and, given his connection with Joe Shields, it’s not difficult to assume there is a willingness to persist for the reputations of all involved.

Both Reece James and Wesley Fofana have shown the capacity to overcome long-standing injury issues over the past 18 months and play substantial minutes, but I’m not entirely sure how much appetite there is, or should be, to wait for Lavia to do the same.

Alonso certainly cannot wait, which is reflected in how Chelsea are moving during the current transfer window. During a pre-season in which he’s giving opportunities to academy players, he may quickly become convinced there is already a better option.

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Few aspects of Chelsea’s dreadful season better encapsulated their decline than their approach to set-pieces.

What began as a genuine route to goals at the start of the campaign gradually levelled out before eventually becoming a complete liability at both ends of the pitch.

The news that Aston Villa’s set-piece guru Austin MacPhee is set to join the club following his departure from Villa could prove one of Xabi Alonso’s most transformative additions of the summer.

Bernardo Cueva, who had overseen Chelsea’s set-pieces since the beginning of the 2024/25 season, is reportedly taking on a more ‘behind-the-scenes’ role. That could see him become part of a broader data-led analysis department rather than being completely detached from first-team coaching. However, given the output of last season, change in this area always felt inevitable.

The Athletic published an analytical piece in January highlighting Chelsea’s improvement from set-pieces, but even at the time it felt as though it overlooked the defensive frailties which increasingly cancelled out the goals being scored from them.

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The fair question ahead of Chelsea’s summer transfer window was: would anything actually change?

A lot of big, bold promises have fallen on deaf ears. There have been plenty of proclamations about ‘self-reflection’ and ‘acknowledging’ mistakes, but without tangible action, all of it is just words.

Whilst the signing of Morgan Rogers is certainly a bold statement, the arrival of Maxence Lacroix feels far more symbolic of a change in direction.

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From the moment Xabi Alonso was appointed, there had to be a shift in mindset above him. An overdue course correction that begins to confront the shortcomings willingly created during the BlueCo era.

Marco Palestra could be dismissed because of his young age. Rogers could be dismissed because of his prior City connection. Lacroix cannot.

Here is a 26-year-old centre-back entering his prime years, signed for a significant fee and recruited directly for the here and now. There is no promise of potential or hypothetical futures. Lacroix is a seasoned professional being recruited for what he can instantly offer.

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Impressing for Palace since signing from Wolfsburg in 2024, Lacroix has formed the core of a defence that has enjoyed success, winning the FA Cup, qualifying for European football and lifting the Conference League in May.

Lacroix ranked as the second-best box defender in the Premier League last season, making a total of 11 tackles inside the box and winning eight of them. Since arriving in the league, no centre-back has won more 1v1s, while his speed ranks him as the fifth fastest.

He ranks in the 92nd percentile for box interceptions, 93rd for box aerials won, 97th for defensive actions in the half-space channels and 94th for interceptions in the channels.

In comparison to his French compatriot William Saliba, he posted a higher aerial duel and defensive duel win percentage in 25/26. Compared to Trevoh Chalobah and Wesley Fofana – the two defenders who played comparable minutes for Chelsea last season – he betters them in possession won, defensive duels and aerial duels.

Via OptaJoe, during the 2025-26 Premier League campaign, Maxence Lacroix was the only player to record 50+ tackles (60), 200+ duels won (204) and 250+ clearances (252).

Some may scoff at his passing numbers, but some leeway and context have to be applied given the team he has been playing for, which has become accustomed to sitting deeper and not dominating possession.

Chelsea’s defence has been lacking character – not uncommon throughout the rest of the squad. A bit of leadership and accountability can go a long way in this era, and Lacroix appears to be someone who can provide those intangibles.

The small quirk of him buying a drink for every supporter sitting in Row Five at Selhurst Park for the opening game of last season because of his shirt number was a nice touch. He has quite clearly become popular at Palace, and even after the exit of Marc Guehi, Lacroix has continued to demonstrate his quality.

Alonso’s system still remains unclear and, given Lacroix’s ample experience in a back three under Oliver Glasner, it is easy to see how he could fill a similar role at Stamford Bridge. Whether that is on the right or in the centre, there is reason to believe that, with Colwill’s strengths on the ball, Lacroix’s profile can complement him nicely.

Just reading out Levi Colwill and Maxence Lacroix suddenly feels a lot more serious. Whether that is as part of a two or a three, it undoubtedly strengthens what Alonso has to work with.

You also ponder the benefits Josh Acheampong could gain from playing alongside older, higher-quality defenders. Part of the issue for Chelsea without Colwill last season was the complete lack of a commanding presence.

No one seemed capable of filling the void, meaning a flurry of different combinations were tried and tested without ever truly convincing. From a technical standpoint, Lacroix hopefully raises the ceiling from the off, but from a mentality perspective, he should also push those around him to improve.

Given the failed pursuit of Granit Xhaka, and with previous attempts to recruit experience having faltered, the club had to prove capable of getting one over the line this summer.

No transfer window is won in July. Even with the dopamine of the past week, which has seen Rogers and Lacroix captured in efficient fashion, there is still a significant chunk of the summer to go before the serious stuff even gets going. Chelsea still need to offload a lot of players, many of them defenders, where plenty of mistakes have been made.

But the biggest win is that Alonso’s influence appears to be making a notable difference, which, plainly, is what we all hoped for.

Whilst Lacroix is not in the twilight of his career, he is far removed from the raw, unproven and embryonic talent into which BlueCo’s recruitment has chucked millions into. We are having football conversations about football players rather than pseudo-intellectual ones about spreadsheets filled with whataboutery.

The signing is undeniably a football-first piece of business. There is not a whiff of PSR or multi-club strategy about it. This is for Alonso. This is for making a stronger Chelsea team right now. And that is worth applauding.

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It’s 10.30pm on Saturday night, me and two mates barrel into a taxi in a field after experiencing the wonder of The Wombats at a festival. I’d had no phone signal all day. Within seconds of getting into the taxi, I was greeted by England being 4-0 up against France and Chelsea agreeing a £117m deal for Morgan Rogers.

I’m still not sure which one left me more shocked.

When penning these for and against pieces, we are usually talking about a player who may or may not join or be sold. But given how suddenly this deal emerged, Rogers is all but a new Chelsea player.

The idea of Chelsea signing Rogers is not completely left-field. Given he was one of many players once connected to Manchester City’s academy, there is statistically a 50% chance BlueCo sign you.

Rogers was heavily linked throughout last summer, but it seemed inevitable he would move to Arsenal, with Mikel Arteta a long-time admirer. Then Xabi Alonso happened.

The pull that we hoped would offer Chelsea heavy assistance has clearly worked wonders on this occasion. For whatever you feel about Rogers, the maddening fee that no one can justify, or what it means for the rest of Chelsea’s attack, you cannot accuse the club of lacking ambition in this deal.

Despite securing a player that the club had clearly been tracking, to invest this much on a player heavily pursued by Arsenal, with ample Premier League minutes for a contender for Champions League qualification, this is anything but penny-pinching.

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Chelsea supporters will always love Thomas Tuchel and reminisce about his miraculous Champions League run. But his latest instalment in England's long history of tournament heartbreak reminded us all of his worst side.

In what was one of the most startling acts of coaching self-sabotage I have witnessed in some time, I was transported back to 2022, when Tuchel's once seemingly flawless tactical touch began to give way to increasingly confusing decisions.

Playing a clearly out-of-form Cesar Azpilicueta ahead of Trevoh Chalobah, forcing Reece James into the right-sided centre-back role to compensate for Azpilicueta's shortcomings, all while Chelsea's attacking threat became increasingly blunt.

Tuchel's greatest strength has always been his deep understanding of tactical structure and his ability to undermine elite opponents with bespoke game plans. Yet that same strength can become his greatest weakness.

Taking off goalscorer Anthony Gordon for Ezri Konsa will now join the hall of England mishaps. Worse still, committing fully to a low-block with over 20 minutes to go whilst offering no attacking freshness or outlet was so self-defeating you'd have been forgiven for thinking it was intentional.

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That second half was a perfect illustration of the illusion that being pragmatic and defensive is always the shrewd choice. There is having a robust defensive plan that stifles and disrupts your opponents biggest threats. That is what England were effectively doing for the first hour of the semi-final.

But the key ingredient within that was actually offering a threat which allowed them to take the lead through Gordon.

I always think to what analyst Alex Stewart (formerly on Tifo, now of The Analytics FC) said in regards to how teams prepare for games. The importance of the idea that, in every match, both teams are asking questions of their opponent.

Some may be as simple as: Can you stop Lionel Messi?

But they also go deeper. How do you counter our speed in attack as you attempt to press up and create overloads in central areas? Argentina like to press their fullbacks forward, inevitably leaving a gap behind which isolates both of their centre-backs, who by the time Gordon scored, were both on a yellow.

As Tim Vickery so perfectly nailed in his scathing post-match rant for BBC, England had Argentina exactly where they wanted them. Messi was finding it difficult to conjure space and receive touches near the box to construct play.

This was because England had players further up the pitch which naturally forced Argentina to think in two ways.

The moment Tuchel decided to surrender the ball, not inject fresh legs via Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka or Noni Madueke, the game completely turned in their favour.

Maybe it is a culturally English thing. That we fear the opposition more than we do thinking how we can hurt them. Parking the bus, lumping it as far from our goal and sticking on the big man to head the ball away are, at times 2D ways of looking at today’s English game, but that was how Tuchel’s defensive plan was enacted on the biggest stage in 2026. And it was completely eaten alive.

England are not good enough to sit that deep for that long, and even if they were, the game has quite clearly evolved to a point where such reductive tactics can be undermined. England were no longer containing, they were simply a boxer putting their fists down, cowering in the corner and hoping that a knockout blow would not come.

Whilst this feels eerily similar to the way England lost to Croatia in Moscow and Italy at Wembley, this feels far more self-inflicted. It was as if Tuchel had decided England were down to 10-men and was going to act accordingly.

Rodrigo De Paul and Messi suddenly found bundles of space to cross at will. And unlike Mexico, Raul Jimenez was not the only threat inside the box, and the quality of crosses were not as easy to anticipate.

Scaloni increasingly had the licence to make more attacking alterations, including the decisive introduction of Lautaro Martinez. Enzo Fernandez probably could not believe how much room he was afforded to narrow his sights and perfect the eventual shot that beat Jordan Pickford.

Once Argentina levelled, it was frightening how concrete England’s fate appeared. Because England had nothing left to relieve the pressure, and with a chunk of time still to go, momentum fully in the other direction, everyone could see the knockout blow coming. And even if it didn’t, how were England going to survive till penalties?

Tuchel, at his best, forms great balance within his team. Anyone who watched Tuchel's Chelsea at their peak knows they were never simply defence-first. There was consistent and effective threat. Actually trouncing Real Madrid in a dominant second leg at the Bridge, winning the ball up high and creating dangerous opportunities.

It was about counter-pressing, it was about consistently asking opponents very difficult questions they had to answer.

Argentina were always going to go for it, they had to. But there was never only one way in which to protect that 1-0. Thomas Müller even felt it necessary to film himself on a plane decrying how baffling England’s approach was.

This was akin to a League One side clinging on for dear life away to a Premier League side in the FA Cup and inevitably coming unstuck. And with that, the chance for a potentially seismic moment was tarnished.

It is hard to see how Tuchel recovers from a moment this bad. Not because the tournament was a ‘disaster’. We have lived through Iceland in 2016, the disastrous 2014 World Cup exit, or battered by Germany in 2010.

But the manner of tactical shortcoming given what Tuchel was brought in to achieve feels damning. If Messi had beaten England with a generational goal, or we’d lost narrowly on penalties, whilst heartbreak would still follow, this level of criticism would not feel as valid.

Whilst some will decry ‘fine margins’, the manner of this loss makes the holy grail feel farther away than recent memory. Tuchel was meant to be a tactician capable of showing a level of conviction and bravery in these moments that Gareth Southgate was regularly condemned for.

As was always likely to be the case, Southgate's England tenure deserves considerably more respect. For all his flaws, I never got a sense that Southgate ever made tactical choices this self-defeating. It was more that he, or his players, did not have the right answers.

This is a strong England squad and whilst the names not there will predictably come up now, none of them would have mattered last night if the coach decides to withdraw basically all attacking threat.

With Alejandro Garnacho likely exiting stage left in acrimonious fashion, the title of Chelsea’s most divisive player may return to Nicolas Jackson.

Out of the few noteworthy nuggets of information dropped by Xabi Alonso during Monday’s unveiling press conference, confirmation that the Senegal forward will join the pre-season tour of Asia at the end of this month felt particularly noteworthy.

Whilst not fully cementing his future, given how Chelsea operate, it would be unlikely that a player deemed surplus to requirements would trek that far for nothing.

Jackson is still on his break following Senegal’s Round of 32 World Cup exit to Belgium but seems to have been given another chapter at Stamford Bridge.

All of this comes after he effectively refused to board a flight back to London in the final hours of last summer’s transfer window, as Liam Delap’s hamstring injury forced Chelsea to recall Jackson from his loan at Bayern Munich.

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The first press conference for a Chelsea head coach or manager is always noteworthy.

It naturally marks the turning of a new page. The first moment of scrutiny and unfiltered questions in one of world football’s harshest—and most unstable—seats.

Jose Mourinho’s aura will never be topped. The instant warmth of Thomas Tuchel is hard to compete with. Xabi Alonso’s opening remarks were somewhat more reserved.

There were no bold proclamations or one-liners destined to spread across social media. Maybe that was by design, or perhaps simply his nature. Given how unserious Chelsea have appeared in recent years, any grand promises can quickly be undermined by reality.

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What stood out most was how focused Alonso was on stressing the need for the right mentality, and his preference for the present rather than tomorrow.

Above all else, fixing the psychology of the current squad and perhaps the club as a whole is vital before anything else can enter the conversation.

“We are starting from zero,” was one of Alonso’s early responses to the opening questions inside the Drake Suite of the West Stand, surrounded by iconic images of the greats from Chelsea’s history.

“It is important we build the right mentality to compete.”

“I see that it’s a club with great potential. We need, for sure, to make important decisions, the right decisions, but I think they have a strong base already built. Now we have to build this mentality, to be competitive on the pitch, to win games and enjoy it.”

Other than the inevitable player-specific questions, Alonso never strayed far from this consistent messaging. When asked directly about the length of time since Chelsea last won the league title, and whether he would be given the opportunity to end that wait, he simply responded: “Time will tell.”

It felt ironic that on the same day as Alonso’s unveiling, Andoni Iraola also held his first press conference at Liverpool—a destination many expected Alonso to reach, while Iraola himself had previously been linked with Chelsea.

Iraola was transparent about the inherent instability of elite coaching roles.

“Contracts... they don’t matter a lot. It’s basically year-to-year when you are a coach. I feel we have to earn every year the right to continue.”

That realism connects directly to Chelsea, where the persistent naivety of prioritising long-term ambition over the necessity of making progress today has left many supporters completely bemused by the club’s direction.

“I’ve said before we need to take important decisions, to build strong principles, a strong mentality and culture in the club. Time will tell. I’m not going to say what will happen in May because it’s too early.”

The fact Alonso even said his team need to be “really strong on the basics” when discussing the characteristics players require to thrive under him also struck a chord.

It is depressingly simple, but those are precisely the foundations Chelsea neglected last season as everything gradually spiralled into a campaign that ended without European qualification.

Alonso is not inheriting a solid foundation or it certainly doesn’t appear that way. Chelsea remain a team lacking anything close to a genuine identity. Their defining characteristics have instead become a lack of discipline and consistency, two long-standing flaws that no coach can thrive with.

Culture and mentality naturally intertwine, and that inevitably brought the conversation to Enzo Fernandez’s future, a subject Alonso was always going to face.

While he understandably kept the details of their conversations private, Alonso was at least willing to state publicly that he wants Fernandez to remain at Chelsea.

In the case of Alejandro Garnacho, Alonso all but admitted the winger’s time is up, with the Argentine absent from the opening days of pre-season and a permanent departure appearing increasingly likely.

However, Alonso sounded noticeably more enthusiastic when discussing Nicolas Jackson’s reintegration into the squad ahead of the pre-season tour, which begins in a matter of weeks.

Predictably coy about formations and unwilling to offer cast-iron guarantees, Alonso’s first press conference may feel underwhelming compared to some of Chelsea’s more iconic managerial unveilings. Yet there was an unmistakable undertone of self-assurance that should come as little surprise.

Neither from the reporters nor from Alonso himself was there even a hint of uncertainty about him occupying the chair. As I’ve said since before he was officially appointed, Alonso is the most elite football figure within Chelsea’s entire sporting structure.

Unlike the previous two appointments, this is neither an over-promotion nor a leap of faith. Alonso arrives with an authority and seriousness that have been desperately lacking.

And perhaps, in an era dominated by carefully crafted briefings and grand visions that repeatedly collide with the brick wall of objective reality, that is exactly what Chelsea need.

Not another promise. Just a calm sense of competence.

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Whenever I need pieces of wisdom or stories from Chelsea’s past, I go to my family — and more specifically my dad, who introduced me to the club I spend far too much time obsessing over.

When speaking about Ken Bates, he is unequivocal about the overwhelmingly positive role Bates played in making Chelsea a better football club.

That legacy has been placed front and centre following the sad news of his passing at the age of 94 on Saturday.

For a younger generation, of which I’m a part, we cannot recall where we were when Bates bought the club from the Mears family for £1, installed the controversial electric fence around the pitch to combat hooliganism, fought against the virulent racism of the era, publicly battled Matthew Harding, or ultimately sold the club to an unknown oligarch in 2003.

Those stories have instead been passed down through generations.

What is undeniable is that Bates deeply cared about Chelsea. He loved the club and did everything within his power to make it better.

For supporters of any age, the 2023 BT Sport documentary Poundland is required viewing. It charts Chelsea’s transformation following Bates’ arrival in the 1980s, placing particular focus on the battle for Stamford Bridge between Bates and Matthew Harding.

Harry Harris’ book on the same subject is equally eye-opening, detailing who Bates was and the battles he endured during some of the most fractious periods in Chelsea’s history.

It is clear that Bates was a controversial character — someone who was probably stubborn to a fault. His long-running battles with the media and his disagreement with Harding over the club’s future divided opinion at the time.

Rather than the predictably bland, PR-safe statements that fill today’s club programmes, Bates became notorious for using his own programme column to fire back at anyone he believed had wronged him.

Sacking Ruud Gullit in 1998 was every bit as ruthless as the managerial dismissals that would later define the Roman Abramovich era, with the Dutchman reportedly discovering he had been dismissed via Teletext.

Even in his later interviews — including the excellent Ken Bates Tapes on Garry Hayes’ podcast The Blueprint — it became clear just how long these disputes stayed with him.

For some, those grudges soured his reputation, along with the tragedy of Matthew Harding’s death, which meant two enormous personalities, both ultimately wanting what was best for Chelsea, but holding fundamentally different visions — never had the chance to repair their fractured relationship.

Perhaps there is a lesson in that for all of us.

Many divisions have emerged among Chelsea supporters in recent years. We may never all agree, but what should unite us is our shared devotion to one thing: Chelsea Football Club.

To me, Bates’ greatest gift was the creation of the Chelsea Pitch Owners.

Safeguarding our spiritual home against mounting pressure from Marler Estates revealed Bates’ stubbornness at its very best. Refusing to be beaten, he rallied supporters behind a cause that has become one of the defining features of what it is today.

Given the club’s brushes with extinction before Bates’ arrival — and even before that famous Liverpool game in May 2003 — ensuring Stamford Bridge could never simply be taken away without supporter approval is something impossible to put a price on.

Whatever your views on the future of the stadium, the fact that any decision must ultimately be made democratically by Chelsea supporters rather than billionaire owners remains one of the most unique aspects of a modern club.

The now well-told Marriott Accord meeting after the humbling FA Cup Final defeat to Manchester United in 1994 paved the way for a blue revolution.

Bates, alongside new investor Matthew Harding, Glenn Hoddle and managing director Colin Hutchinson, came to the realisation that the only way Chelsea could truly compete was through serious investment and transformative recruitment.

That meeting paved the way for a succession of players who quickly became club icons: Ruud Gullit, Gianfranco Zola, Mark Hughes, Roberto Di Matteo and Marcel Desailly, among many others.

Winning the FA Cup in 1997 proved to be a watershed moment in defining what Chelsea were becoming. Another FA Cup followed in 2000, alongside the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, League Cup and UEFA Super Cup.

The early 2000s also saw the emergence of a young defender named John Terry and, in 2001, the signing of Frank Lampard from West Ham.

With Champions League football arriving at Stamford Bridge and Chelsea now capable of winning both domestic and European honours, the foundations had been laid. Even amid growing financial concerns by 2003, the club was perfectly positioned to take one final step and reach the summit of English football.

To many outsiders — many of whom never liked Chelsea anyway — the Abramovich takeover has been reframed as some freakish, isolated event.

It is difficult to imagine that, without the work Bates had done to place Chelsea in such a strong position. Securing Stamford Bridge, establishing the club among England’s elite and making it an attractive destination for top players, Chelsea would ever have represented such an appealing investment opportunity.

Bates spearheaded all of that.

He helped create the club we know today and the memories generations of supporters have since been fortunate enough to experience.

Ken Bates saved Chelsea on more than one occasion. He devoted two decades of his life to ensuring Stamford Bridge became not just the home of a football club, but a place Chelsea supporters could truly be proud of.

He achieved that.

Rest in peace, Ken.

Untapped potential is a phrase that can be applied to an increasing number of Chelsea’s young squad.

With the whirlwind of chaos that has engulfed recent seasons, genuine talent can quickly become obscured, making promising players look far worse than they actually are.

Andrey Santos is one of those players.

Many supporters were genuinely excited last summer at the prospect of him returning to what, at the time, looked like an upwardly mobile Chelsea side finally taking meaningful steps forward.

His performances at Strasbourg showcased the attributes of a marauding, aggressive, physically imposing and impactful box-to-box midfielder. There was every reason to believe he could eventually form part of a formidable midfield alongside Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez.

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Taxi for Pastore.

What a Friday morning bombshell from Real Madrid, and one can only imagine the rude awakening Enzo Fernandez and his agent are in for once morning strikes in Miami.

Real Madrid have effectively released a statement rubbishing all of the speculation surrounding a move for the midfielder and, respectfully, are moving on.

Whether this is merely a negotiation tactic or a full stop on the saga is hard to know. What makes this even more comical is that Fernandez’s agent, Javier Pastore, was only yesterday filmed confidently declaring that his player was done with Chelsea.

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From the outset, the expectation was that Enzo Fernandez would leave Stamford Bridge at some point this summer.

Reports out of Spain via The Athletic had already suggested the extent of Real Madrid’s interest might be overblown, and now that statement has vindicated that caution.

The days are ticking down, and the £120m valuation Chelsea have placed on the 25-year-old may only be further complicated by a ridiculous market. Matheus Fernandes has moved to Spurs for £85m, Sandro Tonali also to Spurs for £100m, and, to top it all off, a record £116m transfer has seen Elliot Anderson move from Nottingham Forest to Manchester City.

Even if the profiles of the above midfielders clearly differ from Fernandez’s, we have seen that the market doesn’t differentiate. This feels similar to the inflation of 2023, when Fernandez’s signing for Chelsea from Benfica sparked a chain reaction in the fees paid for Jude Bellingham’s move from Dortmund to Real Madrid, Declan Rice’s move to Arsenal and Moises Caicedo’s switch to Chelsea.

Chelsea should logically look at those fees, look at Fernandez’s output over the last few years, and firmly stick to their valuation.

This could lead to a stalemate that drags out the saga until early September. Either Madrid cough up the money, or Chelsea are bluffing and eventually compromise on a lower fee.

Is Madrid’s public statement a move designed to force Fernandez to push harder for a transfer, forcing Chelsea’s hand and dragging that fee down to a level where Real feel comfortable doing a deal? Given we are still in early July, it might be foolish to declare this the end.

Does Fernandez return to Cobham should a deal not be completed by the time his World Cup exploits are over? Are we looking at a situation so irrecoverable that he goes AWOL in order to force the eleventh-hour move Alexander Isak secured to Liverpool in 2025?

The repercussions of such drama are not good for Xabi Alonso. The new season needs to be a moment of fresh energy, enthusiasm and regeneration for the club in every aspect.

But let’s play out the scenario where the window closes and Fernandez has not got his desired exit.

As that famous MOTD meme of Alan Shearer unexpectedly turning up with flowing locks goes: do we have a plan for that?

The biggest concern pertains to culture and whether Fernandez, whose intent to leave has been about as subtle as a Michael Bay film, can truly make amends, even for just one season, for the greater good of the team.

I would defend Fernandez’s on-pitch output fervently since the end of 2024. Ending a dreadful 2025/26 campaign with 15 goals is a statistic that needs repeating. That’s not to exonerate Fernandez of any accountability for the team’s failure, but to showcase the end product he factually provides.

The fear is that Fernandez’s major influence in the dressing room undermines the cultural reset Xabi Alonso needs to inject. That his long-standing frustrations may only build, making his future a constant topic in press conferences throughout the season.

Fernandez is not a small name. He will not simply blend into the background if he spends weeks without playing. If he stays, he needs to reintegrate quickly and will almost certainly play a prominent first-team role.

With Fernandez leaving, there is—or was—a route to refresh Chelsea’s midfield and truly confront a balance issue that has been prevalent for a number of seasons.

Even if, individually, Fernandez and Moises Caicedo have produced excellent performances, they have not become the solid midfield partnership many anticipated when they were signed. Fernandez has been pushed further forward because of his clear influence, while Caicedo has remained deeper, leading to multiple occasions where Chelsea have been overrun in central areas.

The money received from Fernandez could be used to invest in a genuine central midfielder who complements, rather than clashes with, Caicedo. That, in turn, could simplify things in attack, with Cole Palmer given more space to return to his most prolific form.

If Fernandez stays, does the same conundrum remain for Alonso? How does he balance maintaining all of the very tangible qualities Fernandez brings while mitigating his off-the-ball limitations and securing the centre of midfield?

Even if keeping Fernandez proves a net positive—mainly based on the simple economics that having more good footballers is almost always beneficial—the cultural and tactical considerations remain.

You would assume Alonso has planned for life with or without Fernandez. The intrigue now is that if the unthinkable happens, just how different will Alonso’s Chelsea look?

In a potential 3-4-2-1, where does Fernandez fit? In one of the double No.10 roles, perhaps, rather than partnering Caicedo in a pivot. How does that affect Estevao’s future? Or the other wide players who will all be desperate for minutes?

We get back to the biggest question of all: how can a player who is so clearly out of the door return and refocus?

How do supporters treat him? Are we going to see another Romelu Lukaku situation, where, to some, Fernandez’s actions make him an outcast within the group? A lightning rod for disdain, with every problem directed towards him.

I doubt that reaction will be quite as strong because many supporters understand why Fernandez wants to leave. The scale of the on-pitch failure, mismanagement and incompetence under the ownership makes blindly defending the club a much harder sell than it was during the Abramovich era.

The worry is that, even if the atmosphere is not febrile from the outset, there is a lingering distrust towards a player whose heart is clearly set elsewhere. Alonso needs selfless characters. He needs complete buy-in from everyone. He needs to build an actual team capable of producing consistently strong performances.

Returning to that statement, there are still ways in which the deal could happen. Maybe a certain French midfielder in return could sweeten the deal for all involved. Does Jose really want more box-office fights in his dressing room next season?

The Fernandez-Chelsea story is, for now, set to rumble on. How good that is for Xabi Alonso is a far more relevant question.

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Wednesday will see the official beginning of Xabi Alonso’s reign as Chelsea manager.

We will hopefully get a first interview, a neatly edited video, and lots of handshakes and smiles. Let the honeymoon period commence.

But the past week has suggested something more noteworthy: Chelsea’s recruitment might finally be changing for the better.

I will continue to stress MIGHT, MAYBE, COULD, HOPEFULLY because I have learned the hard way in this era that jumping the gun is a foolish move.

The £8m opening bid to Sunderland for Granit Xhaka might not be a disaster, but given how the Mike Maignan negotiations played out 12 months ago, it is still amazing that people are surprised by the distrust directed towards those in charge.

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