A big summer for... Chelsea

0:01The big breaking news is that Chelsea have appointed Xabi Alonso as manager of the men's team. Well, I think it's significant that he's going to be the manager, not the head coach, because that to me means that he will have more authority, more influence, more of a say in all aspects of the club. This is his first big job in the Premier League. And I've got to make sure that after what happened at Real Madrid, that I don't get two good jobs on the trot. So the first thing that I think he'll do, he'll want a goalkeeper, he'll want a centre-back, and he'll probably want a striker of experience. Chelsea could become a decent side very quickly.

0:40They just lack experience and physicality down the spine. It's been a big summer of change at Chelsea. Another one, I guess you could say, because Xabi Alonso is now in. and we're going to take a closer look at how his blues are shaping up for the new season on this podcast. This special Sky Sports podcast, A Big Summer for Chelsea. And to help me do that, I'm joined by two people who are covering the club closely for us at Sky Sports. James Savundra from Sky Sports News and our digital journalist, David Richardson. How are you doing, guys? Good to see you. Really good. Can't wait to get going now.

1:10Not long to go now. And there's been plenty going on at Chelsea, plenty to get stuck into. Yeah, lots of talking points for us today. And David, you got to see them on Saturday against Real Sociedad. league kickoff how were they looking under Xabi Alonso what clues could we see about his new ideas and structures there well the big question around Xabi Alonso at Chelsea is whether he would replicate this 3-4-3 formation that he had such great success with at Bayer Leverkusen obviously winning the Bundesliga title and Chelsea have played six pre-season games their first three played a back four which was similar to what he did at Real Madrid and as we know it didn't go too well there but since then in the final three matches he's played a back three and that has been when more of his senior players have been available to him the likes of Moises Kaiseylo he's brought in Morgan Rodgers Maxence Lacroix has come in as well and they obviously featured at the World Cup so didn't join up with the Chelsea squad until later in pre-season so that's interesting seeing that he's now started to test out that system particularly a week out from their first game Usually managers in their final pre-season game, you see pretty much the team that's going to be starting that first game.

2:24So against Sociedad, it was good and bad. It was probably typical pre-season, and Chelsea were bad in the first half. It wasn't encouraging. They sat too deep in the back three. It became almost a back five with Marco Palestra and Pedro Netta as their wing-backs. They couldn't get out. They couldn't press. They became sloppy on the ball, and that was despite Morgan Rodgers scoring after 10 minutes. You thought at that moment it was going to be a bit of a procession, but it wasn't. And Sociedad deserved their equaliser when it came before halftime. But interestingly, Xabi Alonso kept the same team at halftime.

2:59How many times have we seen it in preseason? Gets to halftime, loads of changes. He kept the back three, kept the same 11, and almost said, prove to me you can do it in this formation. And they did, and they were much improved. They played higher up the pitch, dominated possession. and because they were higher up the pitch, they were able to press. So there was a mixed performance on the day, but the biggest factor is that they've been playing that back three. That's the most significant thing from this pre-season under Xabi Alonso. And that's obviously a big shift to what we've seen previously in the last couple of seasons under Chelsea.

3:33We can get into lots of aspects of that team, lots of talking points. You mentioned Lacroix, who obviously has so much experience playing in the middle of a back three at Palace and having good success there. and it looks like he's going to take that roll over into Chelsea now. And of course, Morgan Rodgers starting an attack with Cole Palmer and Jao Pedro as well. He got a tap in, didn't he? So he's up and running in terms of finding the net for Chelsea. But we just say on Alonso, James, because he's the ninth man to take charge of Chelsea since the Clear Lake takeover in 2022. And just what David's saying there about maybe a little bit of a mixed performance.

4:05This is a manager and he's a manager, not a head coach. He's going to get a little bit more time and space, perhaps to implement his ideas and maybe some of his predecessors is that fair I think everybody hopes that's going to be the case they've given him a long-term contract he's got the title of manager rather than head coach and his role is to deliver sustained success but also create a culture whereby Chelsea aren't winning a title one season and then sacking the manager the next season because I think even you go back to Jose Mourinho's period of success at the start of Chelsea there have been a huge amount of success stories for Chelsea they've won a huge amount of titles but it feels like every period of success has been so short there's been one or two seasons and then there'd be a managerial sack and they'd have a big fall off so I think the plan now is after four years of of learnings that Blueco have taken since being at the club and there has been some successes there were really promising signs under Enzim Reska two seasons ago when they won the club world cup we thought wow maybe they can build on this maybe they can potentially be in the title conversation last season but we know how things fell away and they feel like they've got a man in the building who's been one of the best players in world football who's managed one of the biggest clubs in the form of Real Madrid and he didn't disgrace himself at Real Madrid he still had a very high win percentage I think he only lost seven matches in charge at Real Madrid but it just shows you how quickly things can change for him there but I think the learnings he's taken from there I mean he's ready to take on this job at Chelsea and it has been a really encouraging summer I think in terms of recruitment I know there's a huge amount of travel they did on that pre-season tour but it feels like he's done a lot of good work behind the scenes to build a culture whereby they can deliver this sustained success and this season it feels like things maybe are opening up for Chelsea when you consider all the upheaval other clubs as well is he we talked a lot last season James about the maybe inexperience in this Chelsea squad the sort of the rashness that we quite often saw from them with yellows and red cards coming quite regularly for their players and maybe even in matches where they were in good positions squandering those positions Alonso obviously had that incredible invincible season with Bayer Leverkusen and then you mentioned his Real Madrid tenure there but does he sort of come with the gravitas and maybe the the managerial quality to sort of develop this squad and add that maybe a bit more nous about them going into this next season I think that's what Chelsea were hoped for because over the course of the last two or three seasons they've been pretty much bottom of the fair play table there's been so many silly yellow cards i mean go back to the the back end of last season for farna who started the most games for chelsea in pre-season played the most number of minutes he's actually suspended for the first game of the season against fulham because of disciplinary issues at the back end of last season and that really did hamper chelsea and a number of different managers couldn't solve it liam rosenia looked to find answers for it he didn't last long enough to to really get to grips with it so you think under chaby alonso and this new leadership group he's forming when you consider the age of the players that have been brought in i think there's clearly been a lot of learnings from the new ownership group over the course of the last four years and sometimes it was a bit scattergun the approach when it came to to transfers bringing in players but now i think xavi lonzo's looked in and looked at the squad and realized what we definitely need is more experienced players that know how to win things players like henderson and welback who will get on to who can help get these young players from being not just talented young players but players that can perform on a consistent basis on the Premier League and accept that all that comes with being a Chelsea player being on the high paid players being somebody who people rely on each week these players will need to deliver success but now they've got real role models in the form of those more mature players and actually even in the signings of Maxon Stacquard who's 26 Pep Chivarria 28 I think it's clear that there's an admittance that there have been mistakes made and everybody I think is seeing this as a a new chapter where what has gone is gone and now Chelsea are building towards hopefully doing something special as far as their fans are concerned and everybody working at the club is concerned.

8:00Yeah, certainly Chelsea transfers over, well, recent windows have raised eyebrows. I think those moves for Henderson, 36, and Welbeck, 35, perhaps some of the most surprising moves they've made in that period as well. They weren't involved on Saturday, David, I don't think, but certainly Rodgers was the British transfer record holder, of the most expensive British player of all time. How did he look? I mentioned he got that early goal, but how did he look? And obviously fitting in as well with Cole Palmer, because that's a big question. They're good friends from their city days in the youth academy.

8:32And Palmer is the superstar there at Chelsea. So how's he going to feel with Rodgers coming in alongside him? Well, Rodgers at least is off the mark. He won't score an easier one. It was one week and have all scored, I think, from a few yards out. So that will be a little bit of a relief for him. He was in the front three of that 3-4-3 formation with obviously Pedro through the middle and Palmer off the right, Rodgers off the left. And they didn't play as wingers. They were sort of tucked in as inside forwards, which you would say suits their game. I don't think Rodgers was a winger at Villa. He would always drift inside and find those pockets of space.

9:10And Palmer likes to do that as well. That is some front three, though, when you look at it. If you could compare that to any other team in the league, it's got to be right up there, possibly the best front three in the division, particularly with the way João Pedro is playing. But Rodgers, it was a pretty understated debut, I think. He showed some flashes. He linked up well with João Pedro at times. It was probably him and Pedro, really, that showed more signs of connecting than him and Parma. But, I mean, it's all about getting those front three firing. João Pedro is in phenomenal form in this pre-season.

9:46He scored seven goals in five games after obviously missing out of the World Cup with Brazil. And then it comes on to Parma and his form. Obviously, he had that incredible season, first season at Chelsea and hasn't quite lived up to those standards. But having not been at a World Cup and he's had this pre-season now, he's had a bit of a rest, hopefully get over those injuries that he's had in recent seasons, he really should be firing. So I think the expectation is it's a big season for him as well. But yeah, Rodgers will be happy enough with that start he made on Saturday. But plenty more to come and he will only get sharper as well.

10:23Yeah, lots of focus on him. Lots of focus on whether he gets to do the celebration or if it's Cole Palmer who gets to do the cold celebration. I saw an interview this week, Palmer saying that Rodgers actually came up with it first and then he took it on and made it what it is today. for the people who love celebrations and who does what when they score. But James, just picking up on what David said there because it was a disappointing season from Parma last year. I think Chelsea would admit that from internally as well. But this idea that he obviously didn't go to the World Cup, big disappointment for him.

10:55But he had a long summer and a chance to prepare and get ready for a season with no European football opportunity to be fresh for Premier League game to Premier League game. and I'm sure Xabi Alonso will relish the amount of training ground time they have to prepare for those matches specifically but could it bring the best out in Palmer again? Well I think it was always going to be an issue that Club World Cup last summer and we always speculated as to what impact that would eventually have and perhaps that Club World Cup really was the main factor behind the season that Cole Palmer would go on to have and the injury issues he had as well because it was clear throughout the season that he wasn't fully fit and it really was affecting him and he was just nowhere near the level that he was the season before.

11:38He's been a remarkable player at Chelsea. That signing, people raise their eyebrows at the fee that Chelsea paid City, but already he's proven well worth that and he is one of the best players in the world on his day. I think he'll be desperate to prove people wrong, prove Thomas Tuchel wrong as well, having not selected him at the World Cup. Whether or not you agree with that decision or not is another debate, but for Parma, having to have that full pre-season with Jao Pedro as well, it means that Chelsea are in a really good spot because actually when you look at players at the World Cup Chelsea will be disappointed in some way because they weren't represented at the World Cup but actually from a really good perspective a majority of their players have had a full pre-season they've been part of that pre-season tour under a new manager we're seeing so many clubs now with players coming back after that three week break with a new manager as well not having that pre-season not having that time to connect with the new manager and what impact that will have at the start of the season will be absolutely fascinating I think what will be really interesting, it's a very exciting front three, front four, if you include Estival as well, is two seasons ago, if you looked at the heat maps of Rodgers, Palmer and Jao Pedro, they'd have been occupying virtually the same positions on the pitch.

12:46And whilst they'll want to be a level of fluidity with what Xavi Alonso looks to do, they also will need to be clear defined roles as well. So they're occupying exactly the same area of the pitch. All of them want to drop deep into that pocket because you want to keep that width on the left hand side with Rodgers, albeit he's not an out-and-out winger, but also you want to keep on the last line of the defence as well. So you don't want Gio Pedro dropping too deep. So you want that sort of fluidity, but at the same time, they'll need to have those clearly defined roles, albeit with really exciting players to come off the bench as well.

13:16Yeah, we're getting excited about Chelsea's attacking options there, but there's no doubt one player who scored a lot of important goals from the last season was Enzo Fernandes. Remember in the FA Cup semi-final, he scored the clinching goal there. He scored away at Man City. Big goal there for Callum McFarlane, one of his games in charge. And he got an interesting reception on Saturday, David. Yeah, I've never seen anything quite like that, really. It was obviously he was coming on as a substitute around the hour mark. And as his name was read out over the PA system, it was met by boos, which was quite a surprise.

13:51I wondered what sort of reaction he would get. And there was boos for his name. And then all of a sudden, then some supporters started singing his name and getting behind him. And it was this real sort of 50-50 inside Stamford Bridge of some people who were backing him and some who weren't. And then the first time he received the ball, he got more boos and significant. You could tell that was the reason why. And then seconds later, fans were singing his name. So it was a bizarre split. He didn't seem too phased by it. There was a drinks break and he was sort of smiling as he sort of came over.

14:29But it was a real shock sort of inside Stamford Bridge. And it wasn't a nice atmosphere really to have that, where some supporters are behind a player and others aren't. Yeah, straight up. But it's a bit of an odd one because it was just a bit of context for us, James, around it. Because Enzo Fernandes, obviously, he's been linked with this move to Man City. And Chelsea set his£120 million deadline, didn't they, on Friday, which City did nothing before and allowed that deadline to pass. But it's not like Enzo Fernandes has come out publicly and said he wants to leave Chelsea although he did miss a couple of games last season for hinting he might like to live in Madrid one day.

15:05So is he a bit of a victim here? I mean obviously he had a bit of a tangle with the England players at the World Cup but I suspect the Chelsea fans are more concerned about his role for Chelsea than what he might have done against England in the summer. Yeah I think you're right. That may have been part of the factor behind the boos but I don't think Chelsea fans were too bothered. They're all focused about club football now moving forward. And we know some Premier League fans aren't as enamoured with the national team as fans outside of the Premier League, especially Chelsea fans. But we're in a really interesting situation with Enzo Fernandes because that felt like the big talking point and the big quandary for Chelsea to solve this summer heading into Xabi Alonso's first few days in the role.

15:44And when I spoke to him in his second week at work, He was glowing in his praise when it came to players like Rhys James and Cole Palmer, but it felt like he gave very little away when it came to Enzo Fernandes. He only gave short sentences. The only thing he confirmed was he was looking forward to working with him. He's a great player, but he didn't say much more than that, which makes you think that at that point the saga hadn't been resolved. And there was a feeling at 5pm on Friday that perhaps we could all move on from this and Enzo Fernandes would remain a Chelsea player. because in what we received in terms of briefings from Chelsea sources on that Wednesday night when it first became public that there was going to be this deadline was that Chelsea had had enough.

16:24There'd been months and months of speculation. Real Madrid even released a statement saying they weren't going to sign Enzo Fernandes and Real Madrid seemed to be the most likely destination. But it felt like they had had enough of it, Chelsea, and that was why the deadline was there. Whether they'd had enough of Manchester City, whether it was also Enzo's representatives as well that maybe had been pushing for a move, I know that Enzo's got a contract for another six years, but I think he wants to be better remunerated for what he offers to the side because he did sign a long-term contract. But as we know with the Chelsea contract, some of them are very long, but they're more incentivized in terms of performances.

16:59If Chelsea go on and win things, if these players play minutes, but I think he wants a higher base salary. That's our understanding. But then when this deadline did eventually pass on Friday, in terms of what we were receiving from Chelsea sources were reports and suggestions that we expect Enzo to stay until the end of the season. Now, that's no clear guarantee, is it? Because that's what we suspected it would be. When it hit 5pm, no, Chelsea are going to move on from this now because I don't think they want the start of the season, the start of this new era, dominated by conversations and questions for Xabi Alonso to answer every press conference because ultimately we'll be speaking to Xabi Alonso on Friday unless there's any real clarity on this situation.

17:40and that will probably dominate the press conference, you'd think, on Friday. And Chelsea are desperate for that not to be the case. So they expect him to stay, but that's not a really resounding statement of intent that he's our player, he remains integral to the first-team fold. But one thing I will say, I think if Enzo Fernandes does stay, he will be a massive part of Xabi Alonso's plans. I think, importantly, it was a deadline set by Chelsea, and Man City had no obligation to meet that deadline in terms of there's no rules or regulations. It was just a wish from Chelsea to draw a line under it, as you say there.

18:11I think significantly since then, Man City have agreed a fee with Barcelona for Rodri. And I think for anyone who saw their Community Shield performance at the weekend, they'll realise that they've got a bit of an issue in central midfield. And Bouadi is obviously a player they're trying to bring in as well. But Enzo Fernandes, clearly a player Moresca, likes a lot from his time working with him at Chelsea. So, yeah, I don't think they've quite put a cork in that bottle yet and drawn a line under it as they may have wished Chelsea. Let's see. Let's follow Sky Sports News and the Sky Sports website and app to see if there's any movement on that situation.

18:45Still quite some way to go until deadline days. It's certainly not done and dusted yet. We'll just take a quick break there and catch our breath. And when we come back, we'll talk more about transfers because there could be quite a few ins and outs at Chelsea before the deadline.

19:02Hi there, I'm Pete Graves. And while you're enjoying this show, I just wanted to let you know that we are back with another round of Transfer Talk, where we'll be talking about who's on the move, where they're going, what they could bring to your team. So if you don't already, please like and subscribe. You can watch 3Sky TV on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. See you soon.

19:28Welcome back to A Big Summer for Chelsea, this special Sky Sports podcast. James, just before the break there, we were talking about Enzo Fernandes and whether he could move to Man City. There are a few other Chelsea players who could potentially be on the move as well before the transfer window closes. Pedro Neto, Tosin, De Lapp, Nicholas Jackson, Mudrick. There's a few players who've got question marks here. Yeah, it feels like it's a very bloated squad and there's been a lot of focus on what Chelsea have done in terms of incomings in this transfer window. But they have been very active when it comes to outgoings as well.

19:59I think when you look at the Marco Correa fee, the fee for Andre Santos as well, last season Chelsea brought in around£300 million from player sales. And I think they're likely to do something similar at the end of this transfer window as well. When you consider there will be a number of players that will depart, there'll be some with the loans with obligations to buy or options to buy as well. Which is really important for Chelsea because I think this season they don't have European football. But ultimately next season they might want some of these players involved if they do have European football.

20:28and you'd think the target will be, although nobody's willing to state it publicly, will be the squad they're compiling that they should qualify for Champions League football or at least European football next season. In terms of potential outgoings, we know that Xabi Alonso only really wants four or five centre-backs. He did say that publicly. So Totin looks to be one of the players that may be able to depart. We know Marseille and Benfica are amongst the clubs interested in signing him. He wasn't included in that pre-season which David was at on Saturday. Chelsea making a number of changes at centre-back in this transfer.

20:59We know Maxence Lacroix has come in. We think that Benio Abadishil will be heading out to Italy as well. And at that point, you still have seven centre-backs. So the likes of Josh Achenpong, perhaps he'll be allowed to depart on loan. I think many feel that would be the best thing for his development. I don't think Chelsea fans would want him to leave the club permanently. I know Crystal Palace have had an interest in signing him. I think Chelsea are keen to offload De Sassi to Crystal Palace. that seems to be the reports but I think Palace would love to get action pong maybe De Sassi on deadline day is something that you could see Mikhailo Mudrik a massive boost for him to be back and available he played some minutes on the pre-season tour as well Chelsea were going to assess him and I think it seemed natural and logical for him to go out on loan this season because clearly from a business perspective you're not going to get anywhere near the sort of money you'd want for Mudrik in this transfer window whereas if he has a good season on loan then next season you've got a player who's had a season playing good level football and perhaps he becomes part of the first team fold Chelsea don't have that many left options at the moment Jamie Gittins is another left wing option but if Mudrick goes on to be the player that we think he was going to be a couple years ago then he could be a great option for Chelsea next season so a loan would make sense there is so much interest in clubs signing him on loan plenty of Premier League interest Pedro Neto that is a really interesting one because there was talk about Man City potentially coming in for him.

22:24He's a player who performed well under Enzo Moresca. And it's our understanding at Sky Sports News that Chelsea value him at close to£100 million. There's been interest from Al Halal in signing him in this transfer window, but whether or not they'd go anywhere close to that sort of fee. Again, there's been lots of comment about the valuation Chelsea have put on a number of their players. But what I'd say from Chelsea's perspective is they tend to get the money they want for players if they are going to leave the football club, as they did with Alejandro Garnaccio earlier on this summer. Liam De Lapp appears to be a real problem for Chelsea it's clear he's not going to be part of the first team picture this season, they signed him for what felt like a steal last year,£30 million from Ipswich, they triggered his release calls but just two goals last season, there clearly is a player there, Como interested in making a low move for him we had Vinnie O 'Connor in last week and he's very closely associated with Everton and Liverpool and that feels like a great match for Everton if they were to get Liam De Lapp in and that's something you could definitely see towards the end of this transfer window.

23:22I think he'd like to remain in the Premier League rather than going to Como and following Trevor Chaliba, who's moved there. And there does continue to be question marks around Nicholas Jackson, who did impress at times during pre-season. Again, there's clearly a player there. I mean, from an aesthetic point of view, when you look at the way he combined with Cole Palmer a couple of seasons ago, it appeared they got the best out of each other. And there clearly is a player there in Nicholas Jackson. But the fact that Chelsea have now signed Danny Welbeck means that Nicholas Jackson once again is number three at Chelsea and you would think they'd look to sanction an exit.

23:56We know Chelsea value him at£65 million, which I actually think is quite a fair valuation when you consider the lack of real goal-scoring number nines. And you would think Nicholas Jackson, he gets so many chances. Yes, he's missed a lot of chances, but if he was a number nine for a club like Spurs, who have been linked with him, then he could easily score 15 or 20 Premier League goals. And that is why Chelsea have that valuation there. So there'll be plenty of outgoings. They've been busy in terms of incomings, but there's plenty to keep an eye on. They'll be fascinating to see how many they managed to offload and how many remain either in the first-team squad or in a potential bomb squad.

24:30So much to do, isn't there, before Tuesday, September 1st. And£100 million for Petro Neto. So many players with£100 million price tags these days. Must have been his performance against Sociedad on Saturday. Because in the first half, he was Chelsea's best player at right wing-back. He was a player. Maresca always turned to him. Maresca really liked having him on that right. and would pick him invariably. But David, just in terms of players coming back into the club, Mike Penders was on loan at Strasbourg, the goalkeeper, just 21 years old. It felt to me last season there was a sort of feeling that he was doing so well out there, he was going to come back and this was going to be his season where he'd get the gloves and opportunity to impress because goalkeeper has been a bit of an issue position for Chelsea for the last couple of seasons.

25:14But the indications from pre-season now seem to be that Robert Sanchez will remain the number one. Yeah, and I think that's a reflection on how well Robert Sanchez has started to do. I think he had a much improved season last year. He played 51 times, so he had a full season in goal. And he looked more confident. He looked more comfortable. There were obviously big question marks over his playing out from the back. I remember him being almost heckled by Chelsea supporters to get the ball forward and just get it away from his own goal. But I think he, as I say, he's settled down now and he looks more comfortable against Sociedad on Saturday.

25:51He made several saves in the first half and he seems to be growing into that role. It's a big job being a goalkeeper for a top club and he did struggle. But it looks like he's finding his feet there. And as for Penders, he came on as a substitute in that game on the weekend. but I think he'll have to wait for his opportunity. If Sanchez does slip up a couple of times, then maybe he'll get a go. But for now, it looks like Robert Sanchez is Chelsea's number one. And his deputy last season, Philip Jorgenton, has gone off to loan on Strasbourg. So he's swapped positions there. But OK, then. So we've sort of got this idea of this Chelsea team evolving and sort of starting to take shape under Xabi Alonso through the summer, but still plenty of changes likely to happen, which makes this next question a little bit more tricky.

26:40but what success, James, for this Chelsea team next season? Obviously, they were FA Cup finalists last year and Carabao Cup semi-finalists, despite all the problems and the managerial changes they went through. And of course, that is the expectation at Chelsea, isn't it, to be in finals and to win trophies and to deliver big results. So what is the remit for Xabi Alonso, do you think? It would be fascinating to be in those conversations and whether or not they've laid out clear, defined targets for this season. I think they are really seeing this as a long-term project over two, three, four years.

27:12And as long as they are seeing that progress on the pitch, whether or not they get Champions League football this season or not, I don't think that will define whether or not Xabi Alonso gets a second year. I think it will be whether you can actually see with your eyes that this team is getting there, this culture is being built behind the scenes, because Xabi Alonso is going to be involved in a number of different areas of the club, not just in that head coach role, which we've seen with the likes of Enzo Mareska, Liam Resinia and Graham Potter as well. You'd think by signing a player like Morgan Rodgers for£117 million, you're not spending this sort of money in the transfer window to finish in the top 10 or just to get Europa League football.

27:47And I think this season things have really opened up with a number of managerial changes. Liverpool, a lot of upheaval there. That squad doesn't quite look ready for the start of the Premier League season. Manchester United, their first full season under Michael Carrick. How are they going to cope with playing in the Champions League as well? And we know a few seasons ago, when Chelsea didn't have European football under Antonio Conte, they actually won the Premier League as well. So I think getting into the Champions League and having a really strong cup run in the FA Cup or the Carabao Cup, and I think with the squad they have, you'd think with that first game at home to Luton next Thursday, with the players they may be able to call upon having played on Monday, they do have a squad that should be able to compete in the Carabao Cup with a second string side up until the latter stages.

28:28So I think it won't be a case of they miss out on the Champions League and that's it for Xabi Alonso. So I think that would be a brilliant target because a club that creates the amount of revenue, the commercial demands they have from all the sponsors, a club like Chelsea needs to be in the Champions League, but that won't clearly define whether or not Xabi Alonso gets a second season or not if they don't qualify, I don't think. There's a little quirk from the fixture computer as well, James, which I thought was interesting, that Chelsea don't play outside of London until October the 17th at Everton.