Football Season Guide

Chelsea went from being title contenders early in the 2025/26 season to sacking Enzo Maresca midway through and eventually missing out on European qualification after finishing 10th under his successor, Liam Rosenior. As a result, another busy summer has followed, with highly-rated Xabi Alonso taking charge. Chelsea have gone to yet another spending spree, mainly signing talented players with great potential such as Morgan Rogers, Geovany Quenda and Marco Palestra. More departures should be expected after offloading starting defenders Marc Cucurella and Trevoh Chalobah, while this time they decided to add some much-needed experience to young squad with the additions of Danny Welbeck and Jordan Henderson. It also remains to be seen whether Alonso would opt for his preferred back-three formation or stick to his predecessors’ 4-2-3-1 system. Chelsea’s firepower in the final third, spearheaded by Rogers, Cole Palmer and João Pedro, is undoubtedly their biggest asset. Should Alonso succeed in bringing cohesion to their attack, Chelsea could emerge as one of the most dangerous sides in the league. Their primary weakness has been inexperience, a by-product of a squad-building strategy heavily focused on signing players under the age of 24. Some may also worry about first-choice goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, who didn’t manage to deliver last term.