Xabi Alonso has already been gifted a few new signings when he inherits the Chelsea squad at the start of next month
For Xabi Alonso, although his work doesn’t officially start until the beginning of next month, the Spaniard has already held talks with Chelsea’s sporting leadership team over where the squad can be improved for when his tenure begins.
Alonso has signed a four-year contract at Stamford Bridge and starts his role as manager on July 1. The 44-year-old flew into the UK last week and visited the club’s training base in Cobham to start preparations and meet some of his new colleagues ahead of his starting date.
While there were no transfer talks with the sporting directors during his time in the UK, according to sources, that isn’t to suggest there have been none since his appointment was confirmed. Alonso will already be assessing every area in the squad he will inherit this summer, including in midfield where there is so much uncertainty around Enzo Fernandez.
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Real Madrid are interested in the Argentina international, football.london understands, but the Spanish giants will need to offer £120million for Chelsea to let the midfielder leave. Fernandez has informed the west Londoners of his desire to depart and has made no secret of his desire to one day live in Madrid.
Chelsea are not actively looking to sell the 25-year-old midfielder but equally, they will not stand in his way if the price is right. The Blues have already agreed a deal to bring in a midfielder that could – in some way, anyway – act as a replacement to Fernandez should he move to the Santiago Bernabeu.
Valentin Barco will arrive from sister club Strasbourg this summer after an extremely impressive 2025/26 campaign in Ligue 1. The Argentine star can play in the centre of midfield and also as a left-back and is set to be part of the first-team picture under Alonso next term.
Barco will represent Argentina in the World Cup, which begins later in the week as the South Americans look to defend their 2022 crown. The 21-year-old was in fine form for the Argentines in their final warm-up match ahead of football’s biggest competition, with the incoming Chelsea signing scoring the first in a 3-0 victory over Iceland.
It took Barco just eight minutes to open the deadlock for the world champions with a well-hit strike from long range before Lionel Messi and Thiago Almada wrapped up the victory for Argentina much later on in the game. It was the perfect rehearsal for Barco and Co before they kick off their World Cup campaign against Algeria next week.
It was also the perfect message to new manager Alonso, who got to see exactly what Barco is about against Iceland. Barco’s role will be intriguing when he joins up with the Chelsea squad for their pre-season tour of Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Malaysia.
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