41 Players on the Roster: Xabi Alonso Must Navigate a Major Overhaul at the Chaotic Chelsea Club

Here's what it's all about

• Xabi Alonso wants to turn Chelsea back into a title contender with a clear plan. However, following last season's disappointing campaign, he is immediately under pressure to deliver results.
• The Blues have already spent nearly 400 million euros on new players and currently have 41 professionals on their roster. More signings and departures are possible before the transfer window closes.
• Alonso emphasizes that it is not the size of the roster that matters, but rather the right mix of experienced and young players. His goal is to build a competitive team that can once again contend for major titles.

Summary created with

"We want to build a team that consistently competes at the highest level and fights for titles," Xabi Alonso said during his introductory press conference. The Spaniard signed a contract with the London club that runs through mid-2030.

The 44-year-old will have to make an immediate impact in the English capital; otherwise, he risks facing the same fate he did at Real Madrid, where his tenure ended after just half a year.

After all, Chelsea’s owners, led by Todd Boehly, aren’t known for their patience. Since Champions League and Intercontinental Cup winner Thomas Tuchel was fired in September 2022, the club has gone through seven coaches.

Last season, the Blues managed to finish in 10th place—which meant they missed out on the international competition pots by a wide margin. Even the past few years at Stamford Bridge have been hard for the fans, who are used to success, to swallow.

Point deduction Averted

At least there was some good news a few days ago, for a change. The club was facing a 6-point deduction due to past violations of regulations regarding payments to player agents, but instead got off with a fine equivalent to 11.7 million euros and a suspended ban on registering new players for two transfer windows.

If there’s one club in the world that doesn’t want any problems with player registration, it’s Chelsea. “Every season is an opportunity to invest, sign players, and sell players—but to do so according to the plan we’ve set for ourselves,” Alonso emphasizes.

"We still have three weeks left in the transfer window, but we already have an idea of how we want to wrap it up—and what makes financial sense. Everything has to be balanced with our expenses and the revenue from sales," he says.

Spending so far totals a mere 388.95 million euros. This means the club has signed Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa/138 million), Maxence Lacroix (Crystal Palace/60.7), Marco Palestra (Atalanta/57), Geovany Quenda (Sporting Lisbon/50), Valentín Barco (Strasbourg/40), Emmanuel Emegha (Strasbourg/25), Denner (Corinthians/10), Danny Welbeck (Brighton/5.85), Dastan Satpaev (Kairat/2.4), and Jordan Henderson (Brentford/on a free transfer). Once again, according to “transfermarkt”, the club from Stamford Bridge is the world’s biggest spender.

But the spending spree could continue: Chelsea is apparently still courting Pep Chavarría (Rayo Vallecano), Alex Scott (Bournemouth), and Diogo Costa (Porto).

More departures are expected

So far, the club has officially sold four players—Andrey Santos (Manchester United/56.3), Marc Cucurella (Real Madrid/55), Tyrique George (Everton/21), and Alejandro Garnacho (Aston Villa/on loan with an option to buy) have all left the London club. Trevoh Chalobah is also expected to join Como for 36 million euros.

With Malo Gusto, Benoit Badiashile, Axel Disasi, and Michailo Mudryk—who has just returned from a doping suspension (and is expected to be loaned out)—other players are also facing a possible departure. The future of players such as Nicolas Jackson, Pedro Neto, and Enzo Fernández is also uncertain.

So even though some professionals will certainly be leaving, thereby freeing up the budget and reducing the player roster—Chelsea currently has an incredible 41 players on its roster.

Now Alonso has to put together a functional team from this motley crew of soccer players. “It takes the right mix of personalities and levels of maturity, with players in their twenties, early thirties, and all ages in between,” he sums up. One thing is clear: he has no shortage of players. But a bloated roster is no guarantee of success.

Alonso: “We want to have a good season. We’ll see where we stand in May, but in any case, we want to feel that we’re competitive and that we deserve to be in the running for major titles this year. Time will tell.”