Chelsea\u2019s new chapter under Xabi Alonso begins this summer, with the manager facing a series of early judgments as BlueCo\u2019s four-year project moves into its fifth phase. For several players, preseason may shape far more than fitness levels. It could define their place in the squad.<\/p>\n
Wesley Fofana is one of the clearest cases. Supporters\u2019 patience has already been tested, and the end of last season did him no favours. Two red cards in the final three months, including one on the final day in the defeat to Sunderland, damaged his standing. With Maxence Lacroix arriving from Crystal Palace, Fofana\u2019s route into Alonso\u2019s starting side is not obvious. A strong summer may rescue his Chelsea future, while a quiet one could leave him vulnerable.<\/p>\n
Josh Acheampong also enters the period under pressure. Long regarded as one of England\u2019s top young defenders and a standout from the academy, he managed only eight Premier League starts last season. He started just once across Chelsea\u2019s final 12 matches, while his other five appearances totalled only 18 minutes. With Levi Colwill expected to start when fit and Lacroix narrowing the available minutes, Acheampong may have to fight Fofana directly for the role of first reserve.<\/p>\n
Cole Palmer is in a different position, but the spotlight is no less intense. He is not expected to leave or lose his place, yet his profile has risen again after being omitted from England\u2019s World Cup squad. He was among the first to meet Alonso, giving him an early chance to settle into the new tactical picture. Supporters will want the version of Palmer who thrived under Mauricio Pochettino, not the one who had mixed form under Enzo Maresca.<\/p>\n
Jamie Gittens also needs a sharp response after a difficult first season. Chelsea committed around $76 million (\u00a355 million) to bring him from Borussia Dortmund, but he produced only one goal in 27 games. Morgan Rogers\u2019s imminent record move suggests Chelsea have already moved on from the experiment, and a poor preseason could confirm that view.<\/p>\n
Liam Delap faces similar scrutiny after scoring three goals in 47 games last season. Even with only 20 starts, he never convinced he deserved more. Chelsea have strikers to spare, Jo\u00e3o Pedro looks secure, and Delap\u2019s position is far from safe. Emmanuel Emegha\u2019s arrival through the Strasbourg route underlines how quickly circumstances can change.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Chelsea\u2019s new era under Xabi Alonso gives several players a crucial chance to prove they belong this summer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17978,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[190],"tags":[227,207],"class_list":["post-17979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chelsea","tag-alejandro-garnacho","tag-darwin-nunez"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17979","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17979"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17979\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}