Xabi Alonso today took charge of his first ever training session as Chelsea manager. Alonso met the players yesterday upon his arrival into London.
Alonso was seen conducting players at a sunny Cobham training ground. The Spaniard was rocking Chelsea's new away training gear.
He quoted on Instagram that it was 'Good to be back in business, and it feels so good'.
Chelsea fans would have been delighted to see a healthy Cole Palmer looking in positive spirits today, too.
After an injury ridden season, Alonso will be looking to get a similar level of performance from Palmer that he showed in the 2023/24 season under Mauricio Pochettino.
The good news for Chelsea fans is two fold. One, Alonso is a legendary midfielder, and two, he managed Liverpool's attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz to success at Leverkusen, winning multiple trophies together.
Young stars Estevao Willian and Geovany Quenda, who has now officially joined Chelsea after spending a season out on loan with Sporting as part of a pre-agreement deal made in 2025, were seen working hard in the sun.
Joao Pedro also arrived back. Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti decided not to take the forward to the World Cup, despite scoring 15 league goals in his debut season with the Blues.
Considering Brazil's early exit, recently getting knocked out in the round of 16 to Norway, they would have likely been better off with Joao up top, but Brazil's loss is Chelsea's gain, with now a full summer worth of rest under his bag.
Joao could compete with the likes of Emmanuel Emegha, pictured here, who has arrived from sister-club Strasbourg after a similar agreement to Quenda, where he stayed on loan for another season before joining officially this summer.
Fans not only got to see the first glimpse of training ahead of the new season, but also heard Alonso speak directly on his decision to join Chelsea for the first time.
In a full 15 minute interview, free to watch on the Chelsea website, Alonso stated: “The potential of the team and squad made me really excited, to find a squad to work with, create a football idea, bring excitement to the stadium and connect with the fans”.
On the fans, he was keen to stress the importance of unity and support : "The message is we want to share that belief that good things will come if we are together and we create this strength, it has to come from us to bring the energy, but together, we can achieve great things in the coming years”
Transfer activity is expected to ramp up in the coming weeks as the club look to support the needs of their new boss.
For now though, the focus will be on creating a culture at Cobham as the Blues train daily ahead of the upcoming pre season tour at the end of the month.
