Revamped Chelsea aim to draw a line under years of disappointment
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football – Pre Season Friendly – Chelsea Training – Kai Tak Sports Park, Hong Kong, China – August 4, 2026 Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso during training REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo
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LONDON, Aug 14 : Chelsea fans are hoping a radical close-season overhaul will end four years of underachievement since the club’s takeover by American investors who are doubling down on their bid to bring the glory days back to Stamford Bridge.
The appointment of former Bayer Leverkusen and Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso as manager and a string of signings, including England midfielder Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa for a reported £117 million ($158.00 million) – a record for a British player – could put the Blues back among the Premier League title chasers.
But a top-four finish is probably more realistic as a target for Chelsea who came 10th in the Premier League last season when they fired two coaches – Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior – and once again failed to find the stability their owners promised.
As well as Rogers, Chelsea – who start the season on August 24 with a visit to West London neighbours Fulham – have bought defenders Maxence Lacroix, Marco Palestra and Pep Chavarria plus Jordan Henderson, 36, and Danny Welbeck, 35, to provide more experience in a squad built around youth.
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Argentina midfielder Valentin Barco has joined from sister club Racing Strasbourg while the reduction of an anti-doping ban means Ukraine winger Mykhailo Mudryk can add his pace to Chelsea’s attack.
The sales of defenders Marc Cucurella and Trevoh Chalobah along with midfielder Andrey Santos will ease some of the squeeze in the dressing room.
But Chelsea still have one of the Premier League’s biggest squads and are only going to be playing in domestic games.
Argentina’s Enzo Fernandez, Chelsea’s record signing when he was bought in 2023, has hinted at a move and other players are likely to be sold or loaned out.
Alonso, 44, who won the World Cup as a player with Spain and led Leverkusen to a domestic league and cup double in 2024, is expected to have more influence at Stamford Bridge than any of the four coaches previously brought in by the private equity-led BlueCo consortium which bought Chelsea in 2022.
Although Alonso’s time as Real Madrid coach came to a sudden end after only seven months following reports of conflict in the dressing room, his appointment is a coup for Chelsea.
His job title of manager suggests the owners might take a step back from day-to-day involvement having failed to win anything other than the Conference League, Europe’s number three competition, and the mid-summer Club World Cup in 2025.
However, reports of a split between the consortium’s main investors have raised the prospect of more turmoil behind the scenes.
A mixed run of results in pre-season friendlies – two wins, two losses and a draw, albeit featuring some players unlikely to play much this season – suggests Chelsea remain far from the team that won the Champions League twice and the Premier League five times under former owner Roman Abramovich.
($1 = 0.7405 pounds)
(Writing by William Schomberg; Editing by Ken Ferris)
Source: Reuters
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