Chelsea

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With pre-season officially in full swing, we asked you to tell us what you're looking forward to about club football returning.

Here are some of your replies:

Cameron: I'm hoping that Xabi Alonso introduces exciting football that Chelsea fans can enjoy and all other fans will be envious.

Matthew: The best thing about Chelsea is the unpredictability. We could finish anywhere from third to 17th and it wouldn't surprise me. Interesting to see how Alonso sets the team up and the players we sign to back him. I hope we can hold on to Enzo Fernandez.

Ivan: A fit-and-firing Cole Palmer and how Alonso gets the best out of him.

Nick: A season without the distraction of European football, so Alonso has time to mould and coach his (probably much-changed) squad into a settled team. Less chopping and changing, fewer injuries, less need to rest and rotate players - all bonuses of sticking to domestic football for a season while Alonso gets his feet under the table.

James: Alonso put his stamp on this team. He is a highly capable manager. Given the right players and with minimal interference from the sporting directors, this could be a very good season for Chelsea - hopefully resulting in a return to Europe and at least one trophy.

Louis: A new formation/style of play, deadwood out the door - the usual. But Alonso excites me a lot. Bar Pep Guardiola, I think we got the best manager available (why he chose us is beyond me) and his work at Bayer Leverkusen was nothing short of phenomena - good enough for Real Madrid to hire. Haven't felt this excited for a new season in a long, long time.

Andy: Palmer, Joao Pedro and Estevao Willian injury free, rested and with a full pre-season gives me reason to feel positive.

Nizaar Kinsella
Chelsea reporter

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Liam Rosenior has addressed his Chelsea exit for the first time since being unveiled as Paris FC manager.

The 42-year-old has made a swift return to work in France, where he previously enjoyed success with Strasbourg before his spell of less than four months at Stamford Bridge last season.

After his time at Chelsea ended with five consecutive defeats without a goal, Rosenior spoke about his departure while meeting the media at Paris FC's training ground.

"We joined the club in the middle of a season and at a difficult moment, and I learned many lessons," Rosenior said.

"There are things I definitely could have done better and things I could have taken more accountability for, but there were also positive aspects to what we did."

He added: "I wish them all the best in the future. I think they have a fantastic manager in Xabi Alonso and I will be following their results.

"Those lessons I take from Chelsea will help me in this role and, hopefully, help this club become a very big club in world football as well."

Rosenior replaces Antoine Kombouare after Paris finished 11th in Ligue 1 last season, joining a club with significant investment and long-term ambitions under the ownership of the Arnault family, with Red Bull holding a minority stake.

"Ligue 1 is a fantastic league," he continued. "I said that when I left Strasbourg for Chelsea. I feel that my staff and I have joined an exciting project with enormous potential. It was an opportunity I could not turn down."

Fulham have joined Coventry and Chelsea in looking at Strasbourg and Ivory Coast winger Martial Godo, 23. (Africafoot - in French), external

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The World Cup has done a fantastic job of filling the Premier League void, but there is nothing quite like club football.

As the tournament in North America heads towards its climax and England supporters' disappointment sinks in, there is a Chelsea fanbase waiting for the 2026-27 season with anticipation.

So, it has got us thinking: what are you looking forward to most about club football resuming?

Get in touch here

Nizaar Kinsella
Chelsea reporter

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Chelsea have been told Rayo Vallecano will not sell full-back Pep Chavarria unless his release clause, now worth £42.4m, is met.

The Blues initially felt they had encouragement to pursue a deal but saw an opening £15m bid rejected. They have since indicated they are prepared to increase their offer to £21.2m, although that remains some way short of Rayo's valuation.

Talks have been described as "complicated" by multiple BBC Sport sources after Rayo made it clear they want the release clause paid in full. However, negotiations remain ongoing.

Rayo believe their asking price is justified despite the 28-year-old having spent much of his career in Spain's second tier.

Club sources argue Chavarria's underlying statistics mean he plays at a similar level to Marc Cucurella, who Chelsea sold to Real Madrid for £51.8m last month, and believe Chelsea head coach Xabi Alonso is driving the interest after their defender's impressive display against his then-Real Madrid side last November.

Furthermore, Chavarria has four years remaining on his contract and Rayo's successful player-trading model has left the club in a strong financial position, allowing them to resist offers in a similar way to Spain's traditional big three of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.

That profitability also means Rayo would be liable for a 25% tax charge on any additional profit generated from a sale, reducing the net value of any transfer fee received.

Chelsea do, however, have one source of leverage: Chavarria wants the move.

The hunt continues as Alonso wants to add to his first signing, Marco Palestra, who operates on the right.

Chavarria would provide a similar option on the left and give the head coach the flexibility to use wing-backs in a system similar to the one that brought him success at Bayer Leverkusen.

Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez scored his second goal of the 2026 World Cup, as Argentina beat England 2-1 in Wednesday's semi-final.

Fernandez's equaliser was Argentina's fifth goal from outside the box at this year's World Cup; the joint-most on record (since 1966) by any side in a single edition of the tournament.

Image source, Getty Images

We asked you which players you have watched at the World Cup that you think would be a great fit at Chelsea.

Here are some of your comments:

Cici: Maybe Ayyoub Bouaddi of Morocco. He is like a maestro in midfield with his intelligent passes and good understanding of the game. We should also bring back Christian Pulisic because he has really come into his own since leaving. I think we could use him when we need people who are exciting, but know what it is like in high-stake games. We could maybe even get a proven goalscorer like Folarin Balogun of the United States.

Tom: John Stones as free agent would be a cheap option. He would organise the defence, especially as it was atrocious last year. Vitinho of Brazil is also a class midfielder.

Roger: I would love to see Chelsea sign Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gill, to provide genuine competition for Robert Sanchez. He played outstandingly well in every game I saw and his height at 6ft 6in means gathering crosses is relatively easy for him. I think he'd be a great signing.

Steve: I would love the Norwegian goalkeeper Orjan Nyland to join Chelsea. He would be an immediate step up from Sanchez, particularly in terms of distribution.

Bruce: Daizen Maeda of Celtic and Japan. He is always 100% committed and he oozes the energy and creativity we've been lacking. I have no idea what his contract situation is at Celtic though and, given our history of friendship with the other Glasgow club, we'd probably be the last club they would sell him to.

Nizaar Kinsella
Football reporter

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Last Thursday, Alonso had the players in for a full day but also had to settle into his new office, undertake in-house media duties and then take charge of his first training session.

Training has included physical testing, gym work, small-sided games, finishing drills and a mixture of single and double sessions.

Several younger players have been involved, including midfielders Reggie Walsh and Landon Emenalo, winger Ryan Kavuma-McQueen and defender Calvin Diakite, which has added excitement to the group.

New signings Dastan Satpaev - who has special dispensation from Kairat to train before officially joining on his 18th birthday in August - Emmanuel Emegha and Geovany Quenda have also been involved. Recalled loanees Nicolas Jackson and Aaron Anselmino are being assessed as well.

The players took part in a bleep test on Monday, won by Walsh, whose physique has developed significantly. Cole Palmer finished second after an injury-hit season, while teenage forward Estevao Willian was third.

"He wants to be fit," Alonso said of Palmer, who spent much of last season managing a recurring groin issue.

"He wants to put behind him the injury setbacks he had to cope with last year. He's special and, if he's enjoying himself and in a good mood and spirit, he can be a key player for us. So far, so good."

On Estevao, he added: "We want to be careful with him. So far, he's feeling better and he's a very talented player."

Alonso's coaching staff is packed with specialists. Ismael Camenforte Lopez, described in Germany as his manager's "ball butler", is known for feeding balls into training matches, allowing sessions to be played at a high tempo.

Lopez is expected to play an important role early on, particularly in fitness work.

Assistant coach Alberto Encinas specialises in technical development, while Sebastian 'Sebas' Parrilla is Alonso's right-hand man and the most experienced member of the coaching staff. Benat Labaien combines coaching duties with a cutting-edge video analysis role and is known for using drones and other technology.

Alonso himself is very hands on, often seen taking part in drills, having been described by his former players as almost good enough to still be able to play a role.

Read more about Alonso's first week at Chelsea here

Nizaar Kinsella
Chelsea reporter

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Chelsea goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina is training with Strasbourg as he attempts to secure a move to the French club.

The 22-year-old United States international, who has one senior cap, was Chelsea's third-choice goalkeeper last season and has been given the opportunity to work with the Ligue 1 side, which is also owned by BlueCo.

Any move would ultimately need to be approved by new Strasbourg manager Hugo Oliveira, and no final decision has been made.

Despite training under Xabi Alonso in his early sessions, Slonina is open to a move as he looks for regular first-team football, either on loan or on a permanent transfer.

Slonina joined the Blues in 2022 in a £10m move from Chicago Fire.

Meanwhile, Filip Jorgensen, who is also seeking a move away from Chelsea in search of more playing time, is another option for Strasbourg.

However, the Denmark international is understood to be less enthusiastic about the move than Slonina at this early stage.

With Slonina likely to leave, Chelsea are looking at third-choice goalkeeping options, both in-house and in the transfer market.

USA goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina, 22, is currently on trial with Strasbourg with a view to a move from Chelsea. (L'Equipe - in French), external

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We asked for your views on which players you're most looking forward to seeing in action during pre-season.

Here are some of your comments:

Aaron: Chelsea haves lacked a tall striker since the days of Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba, so I am most excited to see Emmanuel Emegha.

Judy: I would like to see Jamie Gittens and Reggie Walsh given a chance to play.

James: Mike Penders. After a strong loan spell last season, he has a chance to push his claim, especially considering the inconsistent performances of the other keepers. I would have a look at him before rushing out to buy anyone else.

Alex: Hoping to see Kendry Paez and Geovany Quenda show Xabi Alonso what they can do. They are both exciting, left-footed attackers who could potentially put some energy into the Stamford Bridge crowd this season.

Graham: I'm looking forward to seeing not only the new signings and the academy players that have made the step up, but also those who were held back by injuries. I'm interested to see how Liam Delap, Gittens, Romeo Lavia and Dario Essugo perform during pre-season.

Jeff: Hope to see Quenda and whether or not he is a winger we can truly rely upon or just another young player incapable of consistently providing for his team.

Nat Hayward
BBC Sport journalist

The Drake Suite at Stamford Bridge is adorned with pictures of Chelsea managers holding trophies. Many of these pictures are of Jose Mourinho, but fellow Premier League winner Antonio Conte also features.

Xabi Alonso motioned to these as he answered a question on his illustrious predecessors during his unveiling news conference on Monday, saying he is "really honoured and privileged" to follow in their footsteps.

Alonso will want to emulate their success, but first he must calm the noise around a perpetually chaotic football club and imprint his style on a squad still to fully take shape.

The attention of the football world this week may be firmly on the World Cup semi-finals, but Alonso's star quality still drew a significant media crowd at Stamford Bridge.

The Spaniard breezed through questions on what drew him to the Blues, his ambitions for the squad and, with minimal awkwardness and a declaration of his "love" for London, his status as a Liverpool legend from his playing days.

There was a glowing appraisal of Cole Palmer, an assertion that he wants Enzo Fernandez to stay at the club and positive reflections on his first few days of pre-season at Cobham, all delivered with a calm, relaxed demeanor – often with a half-smile. He elicited some laughs with a few wry remarks.

There were also repeated references to being "aligned" with the club's much-maligned sporting directors, who he stressed he does want to work with. It was the breakdown in relationship between them and previous head coach Enzo Maresca that contributed to the Italian's exit midway through last season.

The title of manager given to Alonso has been stressed by the club and may allow him more control and this new relationship to prosper with less strain. In this era of Chelsea, working within the football structure set out is a pre-requisite.

Another theme running through the 20-minute media session was the "hunger" and "ambition" that exists within the club and the playing squad.

Those are just words of course, but they are words that Blues fans will cling to after the meek, timid way the 2025-26 campaign ended.

This was the easy part for Alonso. No pressure. No bumps in the road to reflect on or big decisions to justify. A blank canvas on which to paint his vision.

However, although it is a cliche to say a new manager spoke well at their unveiling, Alonso inarguably spoke well at his.

Monday's news conference was the first opportunity to ask Xabi Alonso why he had not ended up managing his former club Liverpool.

Alonso, who won an array of honours as a player at Liverpool, including the Champions League in 2005, says his decision to join Chelsea was "about timings".

"I am here today on my first day at Stamford Bridge, talking to you," he told BBC Sport's Chelsea reporter Nizaar Kinsella.

"I am looking forward to this challenge, a big challenge, and Chelsea is one of the biggest clubs and I am looking forward to having success here."

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We asked for your views on Xabi Alonso's first news conference as Chelsea manager which took place on Monday.

The Blues boss said he is "aligned" with the club's sporting directors, set qualifying for European football as a goal for 2026-27, outlined his plan for "exciting and brave" football and confirmed his wish for Enzo Fernandez to stay at Stamford Bridge.

Here are some of your thoughts:

Phil: Alonso speaks well, but so did Liam Rosenior to begin with. I'm really not sure about Fernandez and I feel we have made a big mistake in letting Andrey Santos go. It's still too early to make any predictions because we are yet to see how all the transfers pan out and it's not clear what the final squad will look like. I just want to play good, attacking football, shore up the defence and take more of the chances we create. If we do, then the top four is a realistic target.

Keith: He is saying all the right things, just like our previous managers, but let's see what happens at the start of the season. European football is the main target, with some silverware from a domestic competition please!

Stuart: I'm so pleased to hear this. Chelsea must do all they can to keep Fernandez! They must not let another star leave in the same way they sold Marc Cucurella and Santos.

Nicholas: BlueCo will try its hardest not to buy anyone over 21 years old while pretending it actually wants to. It seems nothing has changed, so it could get very messy very quickly.

Andrew: I like Alonso and he comes across well when speaking to the media. I admired him as a football player - he was a fantastic midfield general with a great understanding of the game. This translated into management, as him taking Bayer Leverkusen to the Bundesliga title proved. I think he will be successful at Chelsea.

Nizaar Kinsella
Chelsea reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Xabi Alonso is Chelsea's sixth permanent manager in four years under the club's American owners BlueCo, led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital.

His predecessors Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior held the title of head coach rather than manager.

Alonso arrives with the loftier title of manager, which insiders say is not insignificant, though he will still have to work with the five-strong sporting director team on recruiting players.

Asked whether being given that title was important in giving him more authority, Alonso replied: "What I like is that we work together and we are all part of the decisions we take. We all feel responsible for that.

"The ultimate goal is clear and it is the way it should be.

"We are confident that we are doing the right things in the right way. The potential is there. There is a strong base and a good team already there.

"We need to reinforce it in the right way and take good decisions to do that. The feeling is that we are aligned with the sporting directors. The ultimate goal is to have a good team and build the right squad, and we are in that moment."

Chelsea missed out on European qualification after losing at Sunderland on the final day of the Premier League season and finishing 10th.

That has had implications as the Blues look to reduce the size of their squad, and star players, such as Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro, missed out on World Cup call-ups.

Alonso has benefited from more time on the training pitch, with the majority of his squad already available during pre-season and Palmer returning hungry after being overlooked for the England squad.

"We have been together for a few days and he has come in with a positive mindset and positive spirit. He wants to enjoy playing football," Alonso said of Palmer.

"He is a special player - a different class with a different quality. If we help him by building a team around him that allows his talent to shine, we will be closer to success. I am sure of that."

Inter Milan have given up on signing Trevoh Chalobah as they cannot afford Chelsea's asking price of £30m, but Como are still interested in the defender. (Corriere dello Sport - in Italian), external

Chelsea are set make an offer which could reach £21m for Rayo Vallecano's Spanish left-back Pep Chavarria, 28. (Marca - in Spanish), external

Meanwhile, Thomas Schjelderup's performances for Norway at the World Cup have increased Benfica's asking price for the 22-year-old winger to £43m, with Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham interested in him. (A Bola - in Portuguese), external

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When the World Cup ends, regardless of who wins, we'll still have loads of great content every day as we build up to the new Premier League season.

We're already working on some exciting new things for 2026-27.

As well as all the fallout and reaction to the tournament, we'll quickly shift back towards club football, with pre-season coverage and all the latest transfer gossip and stories.

BBC Sport and teams across BBC Nations and Regions cover all 20 Premier League sides and we have dedicated club reporters, who will be travelling to bring you behind-the-scenes insights from pre-season tours.

We'll also have live pages for selected pre-season matches, as well as in-depth features and storytelling, giving you the latest updates before the new campaign.

Once the World Cup ends, some of the standout players will be hot property in the transfer market, with top clubs chasing their signatures.

Our reporters, including senior football correspondent Sami Mokbel, will be breaking the big transfer stories on our website and app.

We'll also have our daily transfer gossip column, wrapping up all the rumours from across the football world.

For fans of World Cup Predictor, a new weekly game will be launching immediately after the tournament, with five fixtures a week to predict the outcomes of. You'll be able to build up your streaks and share your results with friends and family.

Our quizzes will also continue to be available to play so you can test your knowledge of the beautiful game.

Our new Shorts tab in the BBC Sport app will be the home of sport videos with content throughout the week from your club, including explainers, pundit analysis, interviews and behind-the-scenes content. We'll also be starting to include more reaction from fans so you can see the latest hot takes and debate the biggest talking points from your club.

Live pages are going to get bigger and better with more interactive elements, more conversation and improved functionality. They'll have BBC Radio 5 Live audio commentaries for the Premier League and Champions League, as well as live video for FA Cup.

Remember, the best way to get all of this content is to download the BBC Sport app and follow your favourite teams and sports using the My Sport tab.

Once you've set this up, you'll have quick access to those pages at the top of your Home tab and we'll be able to serve you better, more personalised, experiences in future.

And when following your Premier League team, from the start of the 2026-27 season you'll also get Live Notifications, which give you score updates directly on your phone's lock screen during a match.

Read more about what content you can expect here

Nizaar Kinsella
Chelsea reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Having seen Xabi Alonso as a player and known him from his Liverpool days, you expect him to come across well.

He spoke confidently, appeared friendly and gave the impression there is still a lot left unsaid.

The Spaniard was asked difficult questions about the futures of Enzo Fernandez, Alejandro Garnacho and Nicolas Jackson, but provided clear answers. He offered full clarity on the situations involving the latter two and, while he could not reveal how his conversation with Fernandez went, he made it clear he wanted him to stay at Chelsea.

It is also worth mentioning that Alonso is still finding his feet back in England. He has spoken about being excited to live in London, but he has been away from the country since his Liverpool days.

Since then, he has spent more than a decade in San Sebastian, Leverkusen and Madrid, only arriving on Wednesday with little time on the training pitch.

That is why it feels as though there is more to come from Alonso before we fully understand his vision, which players he favours and whether he can stabilise what has been a helter-skelter ride for Chelsea under Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital.

It is impossible to say how it will unfold, but the likeable Alonso passed his first grilling without any hiccups.

Millie Sian
BBC Sport journalist

Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso has been speaking to the media for the first time since his appointment.

Here are the key lines from Monday's news conference:

• The Spaniard sees Chelsea as having "great potential" and a "very strong base". He is looking for the club to "be competitive on the pitch, win games and enjoy the process" under his leadership.

• When asked what he believes the difference between a manager and a head coach is, he explained: "It means that I'm working together with the sporting directors to make the right decisions on a daily basis. We are aligned. We have set our priorities. We know what we want to do."

• Alonso highlighted that the role is "a challenge" because the Premier League is the "most competitive league in the world right now", but he feels "really honoured, privileged and ready for it all".

• On what he wants to achieve in his first season at Stamford Bridge: "The goal is to reach Europe next season, for sure, but to reach that goal we need to do many things right. Part of the process will be finding out how we want to play, how we want to see ourselves and how we want to approach each game - that's my job."

• He continued: "Time will tell, but we are ambitious. We obviously want to be there but, in order to be ambitious, we need to have a shared energy and hunger to want to have success."

• Alonso already feels his players "want to have a good season", are "really keen" on his vision and are bringing "good energy and excitement" just four days into their pre-season preparations.

• On the characteristics he is looking for his players to show: "They need to have the hunger. They need to have the passion for the game. They need to want to improve. We all need to be really determined in the smaller details and really strong in our basic principles of how we want to play."

• Alonso is hoping to showcase an "exciting and brave" brand of football, but he recognises there will need to be "a good mentality" in his squad to achieve that ambition.

• He added: "We need to build a strong mentality and culture within the club. I'm not going to say what will happen in May because it is too early, but I'm confident and optimistic that we will have a great season."

• Cole Palmer is "a special talent and a special player" who has come into pre-season in "a good mood with a mindset to have a great season". He confirmed the England international, who missed out on the World Cup squad this summer, will be a "key player" in Chelsea's attack.

• There has been interest in 22-year-old Alejandro Garnacho from another club. However, right now it is a case of seeing how the situation develops. "Hopefully it ends in the best possible way for all parties," Alonso said.

• In contrast, Nicolas Jackson will be joining the squad for their pre-season tour in Australia and Asia after returning from his season-long loan at Bayern Munich.

• Alonso confirmed that he would like Enzo Fernandez to stay at Chelsea beyond this summer. The pair have spoken but he was keen for their conversation to remain private.

What do you make of what Alonso had to say in his first news conference? What comments or promises stood out to you the most?

Get in touch with your views here