How is Preseason Starting for Chelsea under Xabi Alonso?

By Blue Lions FC

Down to work: Xabi Alonso oversees the first sessions at Cobham. (Image: Chelsea FC)

Pre-season is officially up and running. Twelve first-team players reported back to Cobham for their first session under Xabi Alonso — the group not involved at this summer’s World Cup returning first — before the squad heads to Australia for the tour, with Alonso’s first game in charge against Western Sydney Wanderers on 28 July. Early work has been a mix of conditioning and on-ball drills. Here’s what stood out from the photo drop.

Talk Chelsea — Twelve players return to Cobham as Alonso begins pre-season

THE NEW BOYS SETTLING IN

Emmanuel Emegha was pictured at Cobham for the first time since his move from Strasbourg. A squad place is anything but guaranteed in this forward line, so the challenge is clear: put a stop-start end to last season behind him, adapt fast, and grab Alonso’s attention. A first crack at the Premier League is exactly the fresh start he’ll have wanted.

Geovany Quenda — officially unveiled on Wednesday after completing his move from Sporting — was straight into it, taking defenders on for fun. The big question for his pre-season is positional: does Alonso deploy him as an attacking winger, or tuck him in as a wing-back? How he’s used in Australia should tell us plenty.

TRANSFORMATIONS & CONDITIONING

Reggie Walsh is the eye-test standout. He looks noticeably bigger and more physically developed than the player we saw for much of last season — the visible pay-off from a serious bulking phase and a real dedication to the gym. That kind of discipline is rare in a young player, and if it translates onto the pitch it could take his game up a level. (Physical read is our own observation from the images.)

Conditioning work: the early Cobham sessions have leaned on the physical side. (Image: Chelsea FC)

Aarón Anselmino also looks jacked — and for him, conditioning is the whole story. After an injury-wrecked season split across Dortmund and Strasbourg, ended early by a hamstring problem, the brief is simple: stay fit. If he can condition seriously this summer and finally get a clean run, there’s a very good defender in there.

Yahoo Sports — Anselmino ruled out for the rest of the season with hamstring injury

THE HOMEGROWN HOPEFULS

Josh Acheampong was out running and looking sharp — and no one on this list has more to play for. Chelsea and Alonso have made him one of the club’s untouchables, rejecting approaches from City, United and Bayern and tying their colours to him for the new era. Now he has to grab the chance he’s been promised with both hands and justify that tag with minutes on the pitch.

Football365 — Alonso makes Acheampong ‘untouchable’, Chelsea reject approaches

Academy prospects Landon Emenalo and Kavuma McQueen were both spotted training alongside Alonso — exactly the kind of early exposure to the first-team environment that Chelsea’s pathway is built on.

One to watch: the young hopefuls put through their paces. (Image: Chelsea FC)

Dastan Satpaev is the exciting one. The Kazakh teenager has a genuine chance to impress in these weeks before Alonso assesses his next step. A loan to Strasbourg has been talked about for months, but it’s reportedly not a done deal — the club want to run the rule over him first. A big pre-season could change the plan entirely.

The Chelsea Chronicle — Satpaev departs for London to join pre-season camp

BACK — AND SMILING

All smiles: João Pedro (with his summer braids) alongside Estêvão at Cobham. (Image: Chelsea FC)

João Pedro turned up sporting fresh summer braids and looking all smiles next to Estêvão — a good sign after a bruising few weeks. Left out of Brazil’s World Cup squad despite a 20-goal, Player-of-the-Season debut campaign, and briefly flirting with a Barcelona move off the back of that frustration, he has every reason to come back with a point to prove. Chelsea, for what it’s worth, shut the Barça talk down flat and consider him untouchable. Expect an even more motivated João Pedro this season.

HITC — Barcelona told Chelsea consider World Cup snub João Pedro ‘untouchable’

Estêvão is arguably the best news of the lot. After the hamstring injury that ended his World Cup hopes, he’s made a near-miraculous recovery and appears available from day one of pre-season — no easing-in period, straight back into the group. Getting him fit and firing early would be a huge head start for Alonso.

THE ALONSO EFFECT

Setting the standard: Alonso works with his players on day one. (Image: Chelsea FC)

Through it all, the manager was front and centre — Alonso spotted leading sessions himself, mixing conditioning with on-ball practices and setting the tone from the very first day. It’s early, and these are only training pictures, but the energy around Cobham feels different. A young, hungry squad, a serious coach, and a clean slate. Pre-season is where the culture Alonso keeps talking about starts getting built.

First day back, and already plenty to chew on: transformations, a fit-again Estêvão, a motivated João Pedro and a pack of kids desperate to impress. The real work starts now — and this squad looks ready for it.

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