Premier League
By Staff Writer — 13 July 2026
New Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso was unveiled at Stamford Bridge on Monday and said he wants to keep Enzo Fernandez at the club.
The 25-year-old Argentina midfielder, who is preparing to face England in the World Cup semi-finals, is open to leaving and was recently linked with Real Madrid.
However, the Spanish club denied pursuing a move for Fernandez last week, leaving him with no known alternative destination and a sizeable £120m asking price.
Alonso replied “yes” when asked whether he wanted to keep Fernandez, adding: “We have spoken. But, as you can understand, what we said will remain private.”
It was part of his first wide-ranging news conference since taking charge of Chelsea following his departure from Real Madrid in January. He also said striker Nicolas Jackson will return to the squad for at least the club’s pre-season tour of Australia and Asia after Bayern Munich decided against making his loan move permanent.
“Nico Jackson is joining the tour in Asia and we are looking forward to him working with us,” said Alonso.
In addition, winger Alejandro Garnacho has not returned to training under Alonso, who began his role last Thursday.
Alonso said there is an agreement for Garnacho to stay away from the first-team squad while he seeks a move, with Italian club Roma among those interested.
When Alonso was appointed, Chelsea were still in contention to qualify for Europe but fell short with a final-day defeat by Sunderland.
Midfielder Andrey Santos joined Manchester United an hour before the media conference, and Alonso was asked whether a lack of European football meant the squad needed trimming.
“[It changed] the small details for sure but the main focus about how we want to start the competition in August, it doesn’t change much,” Alonso said.
“We are aligned with the sporting directors on what we want to reach. The team is good and where we want to reinforce in terms of positions is clear. There are some weeks to go but we are working in a very aligned way - and this is the right way.”
Alonso entered the Drake Suite, which celebrates Chelsea’s league title-winning managers, and said it was a “privilege and honour” to lead a club with such a successful history.
He has been training a large squad, including Cole Palmer, Joao Pedro and Levi Colwill, at Cobham, with only eight Chelsea players away at the World Cup.
The 44-year-old explained his reasons for joining Chelsea after Enzo Maresca left in January, and his successor Liam Rosenior was sacked after less than four months in charge.
“The excitement is the club, the squad and the opportunity, through this ownership, to be at this great club, create a bond with the supporters, win games and be successful,” he said.
“I want to enjoy it, be part of this group and work together with the sporting directors, the players and the staff here.”
“We need to make important decisions - the right decisions - but I think the foundations have already been built.”
“We need to keep building a mentality to be competitive on the pitch, win games and enjoy doing it.”
Chelsea typically target Champions League qualification as a minimum requirement each season and, when asked whether he needed to secure European football, Alonso said: “For sure, that’s a goal. But to reach that goal you have to do many things right.”
“I will be part of that process. How we play, how we see ourselves and how we approach each game is my job, and that is why I am looking forward to having the whole squad available.”
“We have only just started and these have been happy early days so far, but for sure we want to be there [in Europe].”
“Time will tell, but we are ambitious, and at Chelsea you need to share that energy and hunger to succeed.”
Having seen Alonso as a player and known him from his Liverpool days, you expect him to come across well.
He spoke confidently, appeared friendly and gave the impression there is still a lot left unsaid.
The Spaniard was asked difficult questions about the futures of Fernandez, Garnacho and Jackson, but provided clear answers. He offered full clarity on the situations involving the latter two and, while he could not reveal how his conversation with Fernandez went, he made it clear he wanted him to stay at Chelsea.
It is also worth mentioning that Alonso is still finding his feet back in England. He has spoken about being excited to live in London, but he has been away from the country since his Liverpool days. Since then, he has spent more than a decade in San Sebastian, Germany and Madrid, only arriving on Wednesday with little time on the training pitch.
That is why it feels as though there is more to come from Alonso before we fully understand his vision, which players he favours and whether he can stabilise what has been a helter-skelter ride for Chelsea under Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital.
It is impossible to say how it will unfold, but the likeable Alonso passed his first grilling without any hiccups.
