{"id":10778,"date":"2026-05-19T17:38:48","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T17:38:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=10778"},"modified":"2026-05-19T17:38:48","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T17:38:48","slug":"chelsea-fans-discuss-which-positions-xabi-alonso-should-strengthen-this-summer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=10778","title":{"rendered":"Chelsea fans discuss which positions Xabi Alonso should strengthen this summer"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"post-369190\">\n<div class=\"article-follow\">\n<div class=\"article-sharing google-follow\">  <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"28\" height=\"28\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thechelseachronicle.com\/wp-content\/themes\/grv-media\/img\/google-discover.svg\" alt=\"\"\/> <span>Add as preferred source on Google<\/span>  <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>Xabi Alonso is going to have a big say on transfers at Chelsea in a development supporters will welcome.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Chelsea fans have not been happy with some of the recent signings that the club have made under their sporting directors.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-grvmedia-grv-video GRVMultiVideo\"\/>\n<p>Alonso has been handed the title \u201cmanager\u201d instead of head coach, and it is thought that the Spaniard will have to sign off on new recruits and will not be forced to accept any players he does not want.<\/p>\n<section class=\"grv-talking-point\" data-trigger=\"vue-sidebar\" data-story-id=\"e4ac35c9-d031-49a9-8ff3-b732a822ce0a\" data-story-name=\"Xabi Alonso\" data-comment-id=\"a67f31f3-419d-4208-ba81-235b7e015b61\" data-story-slug=\"xabi-alonso\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__inner\">\n<header class=\"grv-talking-point__header\">  <\/header>\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__content\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__cta\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__title-wrap\">\n<p><h3 class=\"grv-talking-point__title\">Xabi Alonso\u2019s first words as Chelsea manager!<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__embed\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"819\" height=\"1024\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 991px) 100vw, 800px\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/05\/FOUR-LINE-quote-graphic-819x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-368757\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/05\/FOUR-LINE-quote-graphic-819x1024.jpg 819w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/05\/FOUR-LINE-quote-graphic-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/05\/FOUR-LINE-quote-graphic-768x960.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/05\/FOUR-LINE-quote-graphic-912x1140.jpg 912w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/05\/FOUR-LINE-quote-graphic-600x750.jpg 600w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/05\/FOUR-LINE-quote-graphic.jpg 1080w\"\/><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>What are <strong>you<\/strong> expecting from Alonso\u2019s first season in charge?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-chelsea-fans-want-to-see-xabi-alonso-sign-a-new-goalkeeper-and-centre-back\">Chelsea fans want to see Xabi Alonso sign a new goalkeeper and centre-back<\/h2>\n<p>Here on TalkingPoints, Chelsea supporters have been discussing which positions they would like to see Alonso strengthen.<\/p>\n<p>Understandably, many would like to see the arrival of a new goalkeeper and centre-back, while there is a feeling that the attack could also do with some revamping.<\/p>\n<p>One Chelsea supporter said the team need \u201ctwo proper defenders\u201d, suggesting that the club should go out and buy a couple of centre-halves.<\/p>\n<p>Another Chelsea fan said: \u201cCentre-back and figure out the goalkeeper. I reckon we bring in one of Stones\/Ake\/Rudiger.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>One TalkingPoints user posted: \u201cExperienced CB (Stopper play style.) x2. No more BPD CB (ball-playing centre-back).\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And another wrote: \u201cCentral defender, creative midfielder and top attackers.\u201d Clearly, they feel strengthening the backline will not be enough.<\/p>\n<p>Both Robert Sanchez and Filipe Jorgensen have made mistakes in goal this season, and bar Trevoh Chalobah, Chelsea\u2019s centre-halves have been inconsistent, injured or both.<\/p>\n<p>The arrival of a new goalkeeper seems very possible, with it being reported that Chelsea have a six-man shortlist of shot-stoppers heading into the summer.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-xabi-alonso-s-no-1-priority-should-be\">What Xabi Alonso\u2019s No.1 priority should be<\/h2>\n<p>If Chelsea want to challenge for the Premier League title again, they really do need a more reliable goalkeeper.<\/p>\n<p>Sanchez is a fantastic shot-stopper, but when the Spaniard gets his distribution wrong or flaps at a corner, Chelsea are often punished.<\/p>\n<p>With that in mind, they could probably do with a new No.1, but their need for a powerful and dominant centre-half cannot be overlooked either.<\/p>\n<p>If Chelsea can address those two areas successfully this summer, they could be in for a much brighter campaign next year.<\/p>\n<div class=\"see-more-wrapper lazy see-more-open see-more-blank extra-content\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.thechelseachronicle.com\/news\/chelsea-fans-discuss-which-positions-xabi-alonso-should-strengthen-this-summer\/none\" data-type=\"subscribe\">\n<div class=\"see-more subscribe\">\n<figure class=\"newsletter\">\n<div><svg class=\"loading\" width=\"118\" height=\"36\" viewbox=\"0 0 118 36\"><use href=\"#dots-svg\"\/><\/svg><\/p>\n<div class=\"signup\"><span class=\"hf\">Join Our Newsletter<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><script>grvLoadAnalytics = () => {(function(d,s,i){var 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\/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Add as preferred source on Google Xabi Alonso is going to have a big say&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10779,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10778","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chelsea"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10778","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10778"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10778\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10779"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10778"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10778"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10778"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}