Xabi Alonso is determined to unlock the ‘world class’ side of Cole Palmer after Chelsea’s playmaker suffered his first injury-plagued season to the detriment of his club.
The 2025-26 campaign saw Palmer struggle with a groin problem in particular but he also had other issues, including fracturing his little toe after stubbing it on a door at home. His limited influence contributed to Chelsea finishing 10th in the Premier League.
Before opening their campaign away at Fulham, Alonso spoke of how Palmer is pushing to avoid a recurrence of his previous injuries. ‘Cole is determined to enjoy his football,’ Chelsea’s manager said. ‘He wants to be fit. He wants to feel healthy.
‘He wants to have a good connection with the players around him. We have this goal. If we are able to reach him and he feels that flow in the game and connects well with the players, I’m sure his level is top class, world class, and that he will have a great season.
Xabi Alonso is desperate to get the best out of Chelsea playmaker Cole Palmer this season
‘Sometimes you need to go through a moment with an injury or whatever to learn from that.
‘Cole has gone through a difficult period with an injury and now he’s working really hard to have the prevention to not feel those symptoms back. Since the first day, he’s been working really hard to avoid that.’
Chelsea’s trip to Fulham last season saw Marc Cucurella dismissed after 22 minutes as the 10-man visitors lost 2-1. The Blues received eight red cards in 2025-26 โ the most of any club in the Premier League as their campaign was plagued by poor discipline.
Alonso has fined players before at previous clubs and said when asked how he will respond to reds at Chelsea: ‘It depends on the context. You can have a red card. It’s football. It can happen. There is always a context for everything but I don’t have written rules for this kind of thing.ย
‘We need to assess the particular cases. But for sure, having emotional control gives you the game control that we want to avoid these kinds of situations.’
Robert Sanchez is expected to start in goal versus Fulham over Mike Penders, though Xabi Alonso refused to confirm that. ‘We want healthy competition in all the positions,’ Alonso said. ‘We will see. The pitch is the boss of everything. I don’t decide. The players need to show me.’
๐ช๐๐ง๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ข๐ฆ/๐๐ข๐ก๐ง๐๐ก๐จ๐ ๐ ๐ข๐ฅ๐..
