Xabi Alonso has been given a rare opportunity to work closely with some of Chelsea’s big names before he gets his hands dirty
As many as six Chelsea stars will have the chance to recharge their batteries, rebuild their fitness, and work closely with Xabi Alonso on the training pitches at Cobham before others can even begin to think about pre-season preparations.
The new Blues manager, who has signed a four-year contract at Stamford Bridge, will get his feet under the table on July 1, giving him and the five-man sporting leadership team sufficient time to sharpen their tools ahead of the new campaign.
Alonso has been given more authority than his predecessors by senior officials, which is reflected in his job title. football.london understands that the 44-year-old will work closely with the board in the summer transfer window.
It’s believed that he and the directors are aligned over the areas of the squad that need to be improved on at the end of the season, with a centre-back, central midfielder and left-sided winger among the top priorities.
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Although BlueCo will not completely deviate from its controversial recruitment model, there will be slight alterations. Fortunately, those who will not be representing their country at the World Cup will have the opportunity to work closely with Alonso and get into his good books before any significant decisions are set in stone.
Among those will be Cole Palmer, Levi Colwill, and Trevoh Chalobah, who have all been left out of the England squad by Thomas Tuchel. Andrey Santos and Joao Pedro are also set to be left at home, having not been called up by Carlo Ancelotti for Brazil.
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If there’s a silver lining to the grade-four hamstring that Estevao Willian suffered in the defeat to Manchester United last month, he, too, could make a head start on pre-season preparations. football.london understands that, as with all injuries of such a magnitude, the prospect of surgery has been discussed.
However, no operation has yet been performed, and at the time of writing, there are no plans to change that. Nevertheless, Alonso looks set to be gifted the rare opportunity to work closely with six big names that could be key players in his starting lineup for years to come.
With the World Cup not set to conclude until July 19, many Chelsea players may not report for pre-season until the end of the month, possibly even August. Last summer, on the eve of the Club World Cup, which the Blues went on to win, FIFPRO called for a mandatory four-week break at the end of each season.
Then, following a meeting with player unions, FIFA announced: “There is a consensus that there must be at least 72 hours of rest between matches, and that players should have a rest period/holiday of at least 21 days at the end of each season.”
Chelsea defeated Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup final on July 13 before returning to pre-season training on August 4, giving them just three weeks of rest. Then, on August 17, the Blues got the ball rolling in the Premier League.
Unlike last term, the likes of Palmer, Colwill, Chalobah, Santos, Pedro, and Estevao, among others, will be afforded a substantial break. This summer, Chelsea will begin pre-season preparations in Australia, facing Western Sydney Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur at the Accor Stadium in Sydney on July 28 and August 1, respectively.
Then, Chelsea will jet off to Hong Kong to lock horns with Juventus at the Kai Tak Stadium on August 5, as part of the ‘Hong Kong Football Festival’. A few days later, on August 8, the Blues are set to take on AC Milan at the GBK Stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia.
On August 11, Chelsea will conclude preparations with a clash against Johor Darul Ta’z at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Iskandar Puteri, Malaysia. 11 days later, and just 33 days after the World Cup final, the new Premier League campaign will get underway on August 22.
The 2026/27 fixtures will be released on Friday, June 19, at 10am.
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