Chelsea fans gained a new wave of optimism when the club appointed Xabi Alonso to be their new manager. He is slowly adding pieces to his squad, with moves for Danny Welbeck and Jordan Henderson rumoured. However, the one that created the most buzz was the signing of Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa for a club record £117 million. Ahead of the club’s first pre-season friendly of their tour of Australia, Alonso spoke to the press and revealed one of the England international’s best qualities.
Chelsea Prepare for Life Under Xabi Alonso
Morgan Rogers Praised by Xabi Alonso
Life under Xabi Alonso has begun at Stamford Bridge. Everyone at the club will be eager to improve on the disastrous 2025/26 season, where they finished tenth. Two managers departed, and optimism at Chelsea was a thing of the past. The Blues supporters reacted positively to the appointment of Alonso, and the Spaniard has already been active in this window, with the signing of Marco Palestra. The deal to sign Geovany Quenda was completed last year, but he joins up with Alonso’s squad ahead of the new season.
The signing which has created the most headlines was the deal to sign Rogers from Aston Villa. It’s a deal that shows intent from all connected within the club that they are determined to improve on last season’s showing.
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Xabi Alonso Discusses Arrival of Morgan Rogers
When talking to the press ahead of their friendly against Western Sydney Wanderers, Alonso expressed his eagerness to begin working with Rogers and tipped him to make a huge impact. Despite the club looking to bring in the experienced Henderson and Welbeck, it’s the 24-year-old Rogers that Alonso was keen to discuss:
“For sure, it’s a great signing,” Alonso told reporters in Sydney, where his team will play Western Sydney Wanderers in a friendly on Tuesday. “In that position we needed an important player, and I’m sure there were not many better options than Morgan Rogers.
“You need players who can have that almost instant impact, and I am sure Morgan won’t need much time to adapt to the club, to the system, to his team-mates. That was the idea that we wanted, to get a top player and Morgan is one of them.
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“One of his best qualities is that he is flexible. In that pocket position, close to the striker, close to our No 10, but he’s played as well on the right side, but more coming from the left. He feels he is enjoying his game, his flow, and I am sure he will have good connections with the other players around him.
“If we get those connections right, that will be a great step forward in the quality of our game.”
It looks set to be a busy summer of comings and goings at Stamford Bridge. It remains to be seen what impact Alonso will have, but it appears the Spaniard is definitely at the wheel.
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