\n<\/p>\n
Henderson made 22 league starts in 2025\/26 following his arrival from Ajax and registered another 10 appearances from the bench. That form, in addition to his experience at international level, saw him called up by England for the World Cup.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The former Liverpool stalwart featured for six minutes in the Three Lions’ third group stage fixture against Panama before sustaining an injury during England’s celebrations following their victory over Mexico.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Henderson broke his arm while climbing over an advertising board and underwent surgery, yet remained with the squad throughout the tournament.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Earlier in the summer, Chelsea had pursued another seasoned Premier League midfielder in Granit Xhaka. However, Sunderland proved unwilling to entertain any offers for their captain.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
When questioned about transfers ahead of Chelsea’s pre-season fixture against Western Sydney Wanderers, Alonso suggested further activity was expected. The Spaniard indicated, though, that his squad might be reduced.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
“We need to know that probably there will still be some movements,” he said. “We need to be flexible and quick to act.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
“The main thing is that we have a clear idea, a clear plan that we have built. Probably it will change until the last day of the market being open.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
When asked about squad size, Alonso responded: “Not too long, not too short, what is the number? I can’t give you that number.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
“But for sure, we need to have options because you know that we could be unlucky with injuries so we need to prepare for that.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
“We can have different circumstances. We need to manage minutes. We have two cups as well, so we need to fight for them as hard as in the Premier League.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
“Once we get the right balance in terms of qualities, personalities, maturity moments, hopefully we are looking at that when we start the first Premier League game in August.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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