It's been a rather stop and go season for Chelsea so far this campaign. After starting off the 2026/27 fixtures list with three wins on the trot between Premier League and Carabao Cup matches, they went on to only win four of their next ten matches across all competitions and were knocked out of the Carbao Cup by virtue of a penalty shootout loss to Liverpool at Anfield after regular time finished 1-1.
Just before the international break, after Xabi Alonso's side had beaten Manchester United 2-0 at Stamford Bridge, they fell to a 1-0 loss to Sunderland at the Stadium of Light that clawed the Black Cats out of the last spot in the Premier League table and lifted them to 19th. There's still plenty of time for Chelsea to turn their fortunes around as they're only two points outside of the top four, but Alonso has to get more from some of his heavy hitters.
Defensive Struggles
One of the main causes of concern for Alonso will be the fact that his Chelsea side have only kept two clean sheets all season across all competitions, which were the 2-0 win over Luton Town in the EFL Cup first round and the recent league win over Manchester United.
In the league, the Blues have conceded a total of 16 goals, the second highest tally of any team in the top half of the table. Only Aston Villa have a worse off defensive record having conceded 17 thus far.
The defensive core led by Maxence Lacroix, Levi Colwill, Wesley Fofana, and Jorrel Hato have been far from good enough and Alonso needs to be getting a lot more consistency from his backline. He's also used the likes of Malo Gusto, Josh Acheampong, and Pep Chavarría, but nothing has quite worked out with regard to keeping goals out of the back of Mike Penders' net while Emiliano Martínez is out injured.
A Swap Deal For Jules Kounde and Gusto?
Per information from TEAMTalk, Chelsea are reportedly considering a move for Barcelona defender and France international Jules Kounde, who is currently sidelined with an ankle problem. They're monitoring Kounde's situation at the Catalan club as they're also prepping for the eventual departure of Malo Gusto.
Gusto's current contract with Chelsea runs through June 2030, but the defender has struggled to gain consistent starting minutes under Alonso and the club know his market value is depreciating the less he plays. For Chelsea, the longer they would wait to sell Gusto, the less they would probably get for him and the player himself is open to a move away from Stamford Bridge.
On the other side of the coin, Barcelona are reportedly open to green lighting a potential sale of Kounde. For Hansi Flick's side, there's a decent amount of moving parts as there's still the very real possibility that Liverpool will make Ronald Araujo's loan on Merseyside a permanent deal and they're also looking for replacement options knowing that Kounde interested in a move away.
TEAMTalk sources also add that there's been interest from the Saudi Pro League in Kounde, but the Frenchmen has a preference to staying in Europe. The prospect of being able to work under Alonso, get more minutes than he is at Barcelona right now, and the ability to play for a club he was previously interested in earlier on in his career.
While things make logical sense for all parties, there's still a lot that would have to transpire for a Gusto exit from Chelsea and Kounde arrival, but it is certainly something Chelsea are potentially planning for.
