{"id":16325,"date":"2026-07-11T02:59:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T02:59:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=16325"},"modified":"2026-07-11T02:59:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T02:59:20","slug":"xabi-alonsos-first-chelsea-training-session-may-have-revealed-geovany-quendas-position-next-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=16325","title":{"rendered":"Xabi Alonso&#8217;s first Chelsea training session may have revealed Geovany Quenda&#8217;s position next season"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"post-376899\">\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>New Chelsea signing Geovany Quenda was one of those involved in Xabi Alonso\u2019s first training session, and some clues as to how the new manager is set to use him have emerged.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Wednesday saw Quenda officially announced as a new Chelsea player, after spending last season on loan back at Sporting.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-grvmedia-grv-video GRVMultiVideo\"\/>\n<p>A significant injury saw him miss a large portion of last season, although he took this opportunity to visit Cobham and meet a number of his future teammates.<\/p>\n<section class=\"grv-talking-point\" data-trigger=\"vue-sidebar\" data-story-id=\"5a9c74ee-9dfb-4c17-80a3-f12c2bcadb5e\" data-story-name=\"Talk Chelsea\" data-comment-id=\"9f9bce51-3ee6-4734-8904-859fef826480\" data-story-slug=\"talk-chelsea\">\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\">Chelsea fans, share your expectations for Xabi Alonso! \ud83c\udfc6<\/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\/07\/Xabi-Alonso-819x1024.png\" alt=\"Xabi Alonso graphic\" class=\"wp-image-376350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/Xabi-Alonso-819x1024.png 819w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/Xabi-Alonso-240x300.png 240w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/Xabi-Alonso-768x960.png 768w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/Xabi-Alonso-912x1140.png 912w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/Xabi-Alonso-600x750.png 600w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/Xabi-Alonso.png 1080w\"\/><\/div><figcaption title=\"Credit: Alexander Hassenstein\/Getty\">Credit: Alexander Hassenstein\/Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-geovany-quenda-position-under-xabi-alonso-may-have-already-been-revealed\">Geovany Quenda position under Xabi Alonso may have already been revealed<\/h2>\n<p>The likes of Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro joined Quenda in Alonso\u2019s first pre-season training, while a number of academy stars were also given their opportunity to impress.<\/p>\n<p>In images that have emerged from the session, the Portuguese star can be seen playing on the right wing, running at left-footed defender Levi Colwill.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-getty-images-media\">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"819\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 991px) 100vw, 800px\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2284781034-1024x819.jpg\" alt=\"Chelsea FC Training Session\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2284781034-1024x819.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2284781034-300x240.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2284781034-768x614.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2284781034-1536x1229.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2284781034-1140x912.jpg 1140w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2284781034-750x600.jpg 750w\"\/><\/div><figcaption title=\"COBHAM, ENGLAND - JULY 9: Geovany Quenda of Chelsea during a training session at Chelsea Training Ground on July 9, 2026 in Cobham, United Kingdom. (Photo by Darren Walsh\/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)\">Photo by Darren Walsh\/Chelsea FC via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Quenda featured on both sides of attack during his time at Sporting, as well as playing at wing-back on either flank too, and questions emerged over where he will play for the Blues.<\/p>\n<p>Based on his first training session, there looks to be an appetite for Alonso to start him on the right, meaning he would be directly competing with fellow wonderkid Estevao Willian for a place in the side.<\/p>\n<p>The Brazilian was also back in training on Thursday, however there are still precautions to be taken after he suffered a serious hamstring injury at the back end of last season.<\/p>\n<p>Estevao missed the World Cup, and has already been tipped to not feature in pre-season friendlies to protect him in the long run.<\/p>\n<section class=\"grv-talking-point\" data-trigger=\"vue-sidebar\" data-story-id=\"5a9c74ee-9dfb-4c17-80a3-f12c2bcadb5e\" data-story-name=\"Talk Chelsea\" data-comment-id=\"397db0ae-8f72-4c3f-ba6c-f39df2fcf42e\" data-story-slug=\"talk-chelsea\">\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\">Who would you start in a five-man defence for Chelsea?<\/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\/07\/Chelsea-defence-819x1024.png\" alt=\"Chelsea's potential back five under Xabi Alonso\" class=\"wp-image-375613\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/Chelsea-defence-819x1024.png 819w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/Chelsea-defence-240x300.png 240w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/Chelsea-defence-768x960.png 768w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/Chelsea-defence-912x1140.png 912w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/Chelsea-defence-600x750.png 600w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/Chelsea-defence.png 1080w\"\/><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>As far as Quenda is concerned, he has already admitted he is not concerned with his position, and is just looking to make an impact when he takes to the pitch at Stamford Bridge.<\/p>\n<p>A Quenda and Estevao pairing down the right would likely free up Pedro Neto to feature more often as a left-sided attacker, which could be a real positive for him as he looks to rediscover his personal form.<\/p>\n<p>The Portugal international would welcome the chance to utilise his raw pace far more often, and deliver crosses to the likes of Joao Pedro.<\/p>\n<div class=\"see-more-wrapper lazy see-more-open see-more-blank extra-content\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.thechelseachronicle.com\/news\/xabi-alonsos-first-chelsea-training-session-may-have-revealed-geovany-quendas-position-next-season\/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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those&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16326,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16325","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\/16325","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=16325"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16325\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16326"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}