Chelsea won the transfer window - now it's time for Alonso to deliver

Analysis

Cameron Smith | Digital Content Producer

The transfer window is done and dusted; now it’s time for Chelsea to start winning.

BlueCo have finally learned from their transfer mistakes and Chelsea’s business during the 2026 summer window was close to perfect. There are zero excuses for Xabi Alonso.

Emiliano Martinez has arrived to replace the error-prone Robert Sanchez, and is the perfect stop-gap option until Mike Penders is ready, the issue on the left side of attack has been solved by the signing of Morgan Rogers, who is a proven talent in the Premier League, and Chelsea have addressed their lack of experience by adding Danny Welbeck and Jordan Henderson.

Furthermore, they have sold incredibly well, raising roughly €500m through departures, and most of the stars to depart weren’t even likely to feature prominently in Alonso’s favoured 3-4-2-1 formation. Liam Delap, for example, has joined Nottingham Forest for a whopping €52.5m after scoring just one Premier League goal last season.

Chelsea also earned €145m through the sale of Enzo Fernandez to Manchester City alone - a player who was desperate to leave and never looked as though he would find a home in Alonso’s system.

Failing to land a replacement for the Argentine is, of course, not ideal, but Chelsea don’t have European football this season and their midfield roster is already pretty strong. Moises Caicedo and Reece James will be the preferred duo, assuming both are fully fit, while Romeo Lavia, Valentin Barco and Jordan Henderson are all capable back-ups.

Alonso is also a huge admirer of academy stars Reggie Watson and Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli, both of whom are rated extremely highly by club officials and are expected to receive significant first-team minutes within the next few years.

BlueCo have been widely criticised during their four-year stint at Stamford Bridge, and for good reason, but they deserve immense praise for their conduct in the transfer market over the past two-and-a-half months.

The pressure is now on Xabi Alonso

While losing Fernandez is a blow, Chelsea still have a fantastic squad and their business in the market this summer was, all things considered, excellent. Success on the pitch must therefore follow. Chelsea are four years into their BlueCo project and after their best transfer window under their new owners, it’s frankly time to deliver.

Unlike Chelsea managers of years gone by, Alonso doesn’t have the excuse of having a youthful, immature team at his disposal. Instead, he has an extremely talented squad to work with and arguably the best front-three in the entire Premier League.

The Spaniard must fix Chelsea’s leaky defence if they want to seriously challenge for major honours this term, with five goals conceded in just two league matches so far this season, but the Blues’ attack looks frightening and there is significant depth in forward areas.

Meanwhile, Maxence Lacroix has arrived to bolster the backline and although Levi Colwill doesn’t look quite at home in Alonso’s preferred system, academy graduate Josh Acheampong has settled in incredibly well under the new manager and is in for a good season as a right-sided central defender.

Several clubs across world football enjoyed sublime transfer windows, including Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, but Chelsea are certainly right up there as a candidate to have ‘won the window’ and it’s now time for Alonso to deliver.

A Premier League title charge may be slightly premature considering the ridiculous quality of Arsenal’s squad, however Alonso has to guide Chelsea back into the Champions League as an absolute bare minimum. The pressure is on.