Xabi Alonso has officially arrived as the new Chelsea manager, and has spoken for the first time about what he intends to do at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues pulled off a sensational coup to hire the Spaniard, who has already won the league during his time in charge of Bayer Leverkusen.
Chelsea are already making signings with the new manager in mind. Marco Palestra was signed by the club at the request of Alonso.
Xabi Alonso’s first words as Chelsea manager
Footage emerged on Chelsea’s socials of Alonso walking into Cobham for the first time, with the Blues less than three weeks away from getting their pre-season friendlies underway.
Upon his arrival, Alonso spoke to the Chelsea website about his reasons for taking the job at Chelsea, as well as his aims and expectations for his first campaign in charge.
He said: “The message is that we want to share that belief that good things will come if we are together and we create this strength, this power that the club has. It has to come from us to bring this energy, but together we can achieve great things…
“We know that success is a consequence of good work, of quality decisions, of the good culture that we want to build. That’s the beauty of such a complex but nice process with so many people involved.
“Always getting the best out of everyone, and everyone is committed with the last goal that is being the best we can and giving our best. If we all share, day by day, that feeling, we can be optimistic about the future.
“Settled in. Good vibes and I am looking forward to it.”
The big positive for the Spaniard is that a number of his key players are coming into pre-season fresh after being left out of their respective World Cup squads.
Chelsea fans, share your expectations for Xabi Alonso! 🏆
Cole Palmer in particular looked desperate for a break after playing through the pain barrier for much of the 2025/26 campaign.
He missed out on Thomas Tuchel’s England squad alongside Levi Colwill, while Joao Pedro and Estevao Willian were both absent from the Brazil side.
Alonso’s first Premier League game in charge is the West London derby against Fulham, with the added spice of taking on Alvaro Arbeloa, who replaced him in the dugout at Real Madrid.
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