Xabi Alonso will have to make sense of a Chelsea squad stuffed with a jaw-dropping 46 senior players ahead of the start of the 2026-27 season, according to the club’s website – with the number rising as new signings join the pack.
The incoming Blues manager has already overseen a number of eye-catching transfers since arriving at Stamford Bridge at the start of July, including the £117million deal for Morgan Rogers, and additional signings including Marco Palestra, Danny Welbeck, Maxence Lacroix and Jordan Henderson.
But worryingly for the west London side, there have been few outgoings, with the only confirmed departures Marc Cucurella for Real Madrid, Tyrique George’s permanent signing for Everton, and loans for Alejandro Garnacho, Jesse Derry, and Kendry Paez.
As a result, Alonso must drastically slim down his cohort while ensuring that players are not left unsettled by joining a Chelsea’s ‘bomb squad’ – a tactic former manager Enzo Maresca deployed last season.
Those who were deemed to have no future under the Italian manager – who has since taken over from his mentor Pep Guardiola at Manchester City – were sent to train separately from the first team, and even ordered to use a separate dressing room.
Big names including Raheem Sterling, Axel Disasi, Joao Felix and Ben Chilwell were among those to be considered permanently outcast under Maresca.
Xabi Alonso faces a selection headache as Chelsea add yet more players to their stuffed ranks
Chelsea’s hierarchy will have to organise yet more loans – or permanent deals – at pace ahead of their first match of the new Premier League season on August 24, with some positions seeing eight players fight over a starting berth, according to Chelsea’s own list of senior players.
Nicolas Jackson has swelled the strikers’ ranks after returning from his season-long loan at Bayern Munich, alongside incoming Kazakh starlet Dastan Satpayev, who was signed by the club in February 2025 but only due to arrive in the Premier League in August.
Satpayev is not however listed on the club’s website, although he has already featured under Alonso – nor is Denner, a young Brazilian starlet who, like Satpayev, was signed in 2025 and is set to move now that he has turned 18.
Up front, Emmanuel Emegha made the move from Chelsea’s sister club Strasbourg and will compete with Welbeck, Marc Guiu, Liam Delap, and Joao Pedro for minutes too.
Satpayev is not the only player under consideration for Alonso that is yet to don a Chelsea shirt in competitive action, beyond this summer’s signings.
Former Strasbourg loanee goalkeeper Mike Penders is a similar case, while Gabriel Slonina has had back-to-back-to-back loans since his 2022 move.
Chelsea will also finally get their hands on Valentin Barco, who last summer was the subject of a botched signing to BlueCo – Chelsea’s parent company – before eventually moving in a permanent deal to Strasbourg.
Last week, Chelsea confirmed that they have signed the Argentina midfielder who taunted Jude Bellingham and earned a clip around the ear after England were knocked out of the World Cup.
Mykhailo Mudryk has rejoined the Chelsea squad after his doping case was resolved
Jordan Henderson’s arrival has taken Chelsea’s squad up to a staggering 46 players
Alonso may also have made further work for himself by bringing a number of youth stars into the fold during Chelsea’s pre-season tour.
In the absence of established stars who went deep at the World Cup, such as Fernandez and captain Reece James, the Spaniard was able to keep a closer eye on academy stars listed as senior players at the club such as Reggie Watson, Reggie Walsh, Ryan Kavuma-McQueen, Calvin Diakite, Olutaro Subuloye, Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli, Landon Emenalo and Ted Curd, bringing nine in total to Australia and Asia.
A final complication is added by the return of Mykhailo Mudryk, after the Ukrainian star’s multi-year doping case was resolved just days ago.
Happily for Alonso, some players have already attracted close interest from top-flight sides across Europe.
Chelsea are in talks with Como over a move for Chalobah, and Crystal Palace and West Ham for Disasi – who is not even listed as a senior player on their website. Forgotten forward David Datro Fofana is also unlisted. Benoit Badiashile has also caught the eye of Napoli.
The Blues will look to keep hold of Fernandez but have also set a punchy asking price of £120m for their vice-captain, with Real Madrid previously keeping tabs on him.
Mudryk too could find his near future away from Stamford Bridge, with Daily Mail Sport reporting on Monday that three Premier League sides had made enquiries about the player following his return to football.
