Chelsea new signings arrive but one star absent from Xabi Alonso’s first training session
Xabi Alonso is finally in the door at Chelsea, and he wasted no time in imparting his methods to the Blues stars who are not competing at the World Cup
Xabi Alonso took his first training session as Chelsea manager(Image: Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
The reign of Xabi Alonso officially began at Chelsea. The Spaniard laced up his football boots, sauntered to the Carrington pitches and led training.
Just like during his glorious playing career, Alonso was at the centre of everything: passing the ball, giving detailed instructions and ensuring he had the best view of every player in the session. The ex-Real Madrid manager has a great deal to do if he is to drag Chelsea from tenth place to bigger and brighter things.
At his disposal were the likes of Cole Palmer, Estevao Willian, Levi Colwill and many others. After his first training session, football.london highlights three things that were spotted.
New arrivals
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Marco Palestra is the biggest name to arrive this season after joining the club from Atalanta for £47m. However, he was not the only one thrown into first-team training.
Geovany Quenda, a £40m arrival from Sporting Lisbon, Emmanuel Emegha, who was signed from Strasbourg, and Kairat prodigy Dastan Satpayev were all involved with training. The trio’s arrivals will give Alonso extra options in the frontline, providing plenty of competition for his attackers.
In his interview, Alonso made clear what he expects from not just his new arrivals, but also those already in situ. He said: “That we share a feeling we are doing things the right way and that we are on the right path to success.
“We know that success is a consequence of good work, of quality decisions, of the good culture that we want to build. That’s the beauty of such a complex but nice process with so many people involved. The potential of the team and the squad made me very excited.”
Alonso right in the middle
In training, Alonso occupied the same pockets of space he did during his playing career. His official title is ‘Chelsea manager’ but the Spaniard is willing to lace his boots up and coach his players.
He could be seen in the middle of drills, constantly giving instructions and hammering his ideas and beliefs into his players. This demonstrates that he’s a perfectionist who will demand everything is exactly as it should be.
It’s the kind of detail that could be pivotal to the Blues’ success in his debut season.
Not Grenache
Chelsea released several pictures of Alonso’s first training session. However, Alejandro Garnacho did not appear in any of the Blues’ posts.
Since he was not called up to Argentina’s World Cup squad, his apparent absence is curious. At present, it’s unclear why Garnacho did not appear at training.
The Argentine’s future is uncertain after a disappointing debut campaign. It’s understood the club is willing to sell the former Manchester United ace and are not willing to sanction a loan move for him.
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