Xabi Alonso to rebuild Chelsea around five stars after first two signings AGREED | OneFootball

Xabi Alonso is putting his full faith in five current Chelsea stars, while the first two signings of his reign at Stamford Bridge are already agreed.

Alonso has signed a four-year deal at Chelsea and will officially begin his reign on July 1. The Spaniard had been linked with replacing Arne Slot at Liverpool throughout 2026, though the Reds never made any attempt to hire Alonso or even open talks.

That left the door wide open for Chelsea, who wasted no time in finding their permanent successor to Liam Rosenior.

TEAMtalk understands Alonso will have a greater say on transfers – both ins and outs – than some former Blues bosses in the BlueCo era.

However, he won’t have total control, but that’s not something that is perturbing Alonso given he’s of the belief the squad he’s inheriting isn’t far off winning the biggest prizes in the game.

And according to the latest from Marca, Alonso’s initial assessment of the Chelsea squad has thrown up five names he can trust.

Xabi Alonso trusts five Chelsea leaders

They stated: ‘With his coaching staff now in place, Xabi already has some initial indications of which players he can trust and rely on for leadership and positive role models for the rest of the team.

‘This group includes Reece James, Marc Cucurella, Moises Caicedo, Tosin Adarabioyo, and Enzo Fernandez.’

The obvious name missing from that list is Cole Palmer, though it’s important to note Marca stated these are the quintet Alonso views as leaders and positive role models.

Palmer may well be the most talented player at Stamford Bridge right now, but he’s still relatively young and isn’t the most vocal at this stage in his career.

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First two signings of Alonso reign revealed

All eyes will be on who Alonso and BlueCo sign to ensure the Spaniard’s first season at Chelsea can be far more fruitful that the current campaign.

And while big names will walk through the front door at Stamford Bridge, the first two signings aren’t all that spectacular.

Striker Emmanuel Emegha is joining from sister club Strasbourg, while a new left-back will also come by way of the French side too.

Valentin Barco, formerly of Brighton, has agreed personal terms with the Blues. And according to a report out of his native Argentina, a club-to-club agreement is now in place too.

Emegha will sign a seven-year contract and is costing around €25m, according to reports. Barco’s transfer fee is yet to come to light, though the player has already announced he’s leaving Strasbourg on his social media channels.