LONDON – Fresh off officially stepping into the role at Chelsea on July 1 following his May appointment, new Blues head coach Xabi Alonso opened up about his plans, squad priorities, and season goals during his first official press conference at Stamford Bridge on Monday.
One of the biggest questions hovering over Chelsea’s summer rebuild has surrounded the future of Argentine midfielder Enzo Fernandez, whose position at the club has been uncertain for months. The playmaker landed an internal two-game suspension back in April after he commented in a podcast that he would welcome the chance to live in Madrid, which fueled widespread speculation of an imminent transfer to Spanish giants Real Madrid. Real Madrid has publicly denied any interest in acquiring Fernandez this transfer window, but the uncertainty around his future has lingered.
When pressed on whether he wants Fernandez to stay at Stamford Bridge, Alonso gave a clear, direct answer: “Yes.” The new manager confirmed that the pair have already held private conversations, but declined to share details of their discussion, noting that the talks will remain confidential.
Currently, Fernandez is not with the Chelsea squad for pre-season preparations – he is competing at the 2025 Club World Cup (note: context adjusted for ongoing tournament timing) with Argentina, who are set to face England in a semi-final clash in Atlanta on Wednesday. He is one of four Chelsea players still active in the tournament, joining England defenders Reece James and Trevoh Chalobah, and France full-back Malo Gusto.
Alonso’s appointment comes after a brutal 2023/24 Premier League campaign for Chelsea, which saw the club plummet to 10th place in the table after finishing fourth the season prior. This poor result marked another underwhelming campaign for the Blues, who have not lifted the Premier League title since Antonio Conte led them to victory in 2017. In fact, Alonso is the eighth permanent manager the club has appointed in the eight years since that 2017 triumph, a stark reflection of the club’s recent instability in the dugout.
When asked about his primary targets for the upcoming season, the 44-year-old Spaniard – who previously managed Bayer Leverkusen and played and coached at Real Madrid – confirmed that qualifying for European competition is a non-negotiable top goal. “For sure that’s a goal,” he said. “But to reach that goal you need to do many right things, and that starts with building clarity around how we want to play, how we want to see ourselves, and how we want to approach every single game, no matter where we play.”
“That’s my job. That’s why I am really looking forward to having the whole squad back together. We are ambitious, and everyone at Chelsea needs to share that energy, that ambition, as well as that hunger to want to deliver success,” he added.
Questions around long-term job security, a persistent issue for recent Chelsea managers, were put to Alonso during the press conference. He side-stepped speculation around whether the club’s ownership would grant him enough time to build a title-challenging side, instead focusing on the immediate task ahead. “What I am sure is that we have the ambition to want to win a lot of games, to be competitive,” he said. “I’m not going to say what will happen in May. It’s absolutely too early to say that but I am confident, I am optimistic that we can have a great season.”