{"id":1476422,"date":"2026-07-30T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?post_type=features&#038;p=1476422"},"modified":"2026-07-29T18:26:06","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T17:26:06","slug":"chelsea-transfer-analysis-xabi-alonso-experience-signing","status":"publish","type":"features","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/chelsea-transfer-analysis-xabi-alonso-experience-signing\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Xabi Alonso has Chelsea breaking their transfer rule this summer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/chelsea\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Chelsea<\/a> are making a couple of shock moves in the 2026 summer transfer window.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Blues have spent the past few years buying young players, either to build for the future or to sell and be able to retain a profit. But it hasn&#8217;t worked on the pitch for Chelsea, who are preparing for a year without European football.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Xabi Alonso&#8217;s appointment as manager &#8212; rather than head coach &#8212; has made a big difference. The Blues are reportedly set to sign Jordan Henderson from Brentford on a free transfer, with Danny Welbeck also on his way. Maxence Lacroix is also reportedly joining from Crystal Palace, bolstering the Blues backline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The question is, why has Alonso looked to implement these changes?<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-yoast-seo-table-of-contents yoast-table-of-contents\"><h2>Chelsea transfers: A new era<\/h2><ul><li><a href=\"#h-chelsea-s-transfer-activity-in-the-blueco-era\" data-level=\"2\">Chelsea&#8217;s transfer activity in the BlueCo era<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-chelsea-s-shortcomings\" data-level=\"2\">Chelsea&#8217;s shortcomings<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-a-preference-for-experience\" data-level=\"2\">A preference for experience<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-chelsea-s-transfer-activity-in-the-blueco-era\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Chelsea&#8217;s transfer activity in the BlueCo era<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since BlueCo&#8217;s first transfer window in charge of Chelsea, the Blues have made 52 permanent signings and four loans. They have an average age of 21.4. Of the 56 in total, 33 were players aged 21 or under at the time of their signing. At the other end of the spectrum, only four were aged 26 or above. Three of those came in the first window too, and may have influenced BlueCo&#8217;s avoidance for older stars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (33) and Kalidou Koulibaly (31) were the only over-30s signed by Chelsea, and neither really did anything positive. Aubameyang had his moments but fell out with Graham Potter and Frank Lampard, after signing under Thomas Tuchel. Koulibaly, on the other hand, just wasn&#8217;t the man Chelsea had been chasing a few years earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Raheem Sterling (27) played well for Chelsea and was a key player in his first season. But, again, he fell by the wayside as the Blues looked to de-age their starting lineup and his departure was a bad look on the club. Chelsea didn&#8217;t repeat an over-25 signing until the summer of 2024 when Tosin Adarabioyo joined. He&#8217;s been the oldest player in Chelsea&#8217;s squad for a while, seen as the experiened head after signing on a free transfer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Chelsea fans haven&#8217;t been happy with the centre-back, seen as a player signed for his links with those higher up the club. He&#8217;s one fans are hoping to move on this summer, having fallen slightly out of favour last season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-chelsea-s-shortcomings\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Chelsea&#8217;s shortcomings<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Unfortunately for Chelsea, the EAFC Career Mode method of signing players just doesn&#8217;t work. You need quality and experience to supplement the younger stars. Multiple players to calm things down and lead based on what they&#8217;ve picked up over their careers. Chelsea themselves have experience of this, with Thiago Silva key in helping a younger Blues squad win the Champions League in 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Chelsea&#8217;s main problem from their younger squad has been a lack of discipline. Since the start of the 2022\/23 season, Chelsea have received more yellow cards (371), second yellow cards (nine) and red cards (17) than any other team in the Premier League. The second yellow cards in particular is quite damning, with the younger players unable to control themselves while already on a booking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/07\/29180629\/premier-league-cards-since-2022-23-1024x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1476456\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/07\/29180629\/premier-league-cards-since-2022-23-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/07\/29180629\/premier-league-cards-since-2022-23-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/07\/29180629\/premier-league-cards-since-2022-23-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/07\/29180629\/premier-league-cards-since-2022-23-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/07\/29180629\/premier-league-cards-since-2022-23-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/07\/29180629\/premier-league-cards-since-2022-23-267x267.jpg 267w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/07\/29180629\/premier-league-cards-since-2022-23-200x200.jpg 200w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/07\/29180629\/premier-league-cards-since-2022-23-60x60.jpg 60w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/07\/29180629\/premier-league-cards-since-2022-23-74x74.jpg 74w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/07\/29180629\/premier-league-cards-since-2022-23.jpg 1620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To make matters worse, over 100 of those yellow cards have been for either dissent, arguing or time wasting. It&#8217;s been a big problem for Chelsea, with players unable to control their emotions when decisions have gone against them. But that&#8217;s been a club-wide problem, with a variety of Chelsea managers booked for dissent. The Blues have rotted from the top down and they&#8217;ll be hoping Alonso can be a calmer presence there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Alonso has also spoken of Chelsea&#8217;s need to improve their intelligence after a 6-4 pre-season friendly win over Western Sydney Wanderers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;It doesn&#8217;t matter if you are young or more experienced. This is what happens in the game and this is a quality you need as well,&#8221; he told reporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;You can be quick, you can be good at dribbling, but you also need the game intelligence to do the right things. In every aspect we need to improve quickly because the competition starts in almost a month and we want to be ready for that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;We need to manage that. It is so important in football nowadays.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-a-preference-for-experience\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">A preference for experience<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Of all three reported signings, Henderson is the one that has turned the heads the most. Chelsea have already sold Andrey Santos this summer and Enzo Fernandez&#8217;s future is in doubt. But Henderson isn&#8217;t a player to be starting regularly for Chelsea. His arrival would very much mirror his inclusion to Thomas Tuchel&#8217;s England squad. Henderson has been there, done that, and got all the winners&#8217; medals. He&#8217;ll be a much-needed calm head for the Chelsea squad, who can still contribute with 34 appearances for Brentford last season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Welbeck makes slightly more sense, but is still an interesting one. The striker will be joining Henderson as a 36-year-old later this year and won&#8217;t be a starter. But he&#8217;ll provide good depth for Joao Pedro. Welbeck scored 13 goals in the Premier League last season &#8212; three of which were against Chelsea &#8212; which was his best-ever single-campaign record. He would bring good striking experience for the younger stars coming through, while also preparing himself for life after football.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"819\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/07\/29181250\/joao-pedro-vs-danny-welbeck-819x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1476458\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/07\/29181250\/joao-pedro-vs-danny-welbeck-819x1024.jpg 819w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/07\/29181250\/joao-pedro-vs-danny-welbeck-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/07\/29181250\/joao-pedro-vs-danny-welbeck-768x960.jpg 768w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/07\/29181250\/joao-pedro-vs-danny-welbeck-1229x1536.jpg 1229w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/07\/29181250\/joao-pedro-vs-danny-welbeck-214x267.jpg 214w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/07\/29181250\/joao-pedro-vs-danny-welbeck-160x200.jpg 160w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/07\/29181250\/joao-pedro-vs-danny-welbeck-48x60.jpg 48w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/07\/29181250\/joao-pedro-vs-danny-welbeck-120x150.jpg 120w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/07\/29181250\/joao-pedro-vs-danny-welbeck-59x74.jpg 59w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/07\/29181250\/joao-pedro-vs-danny-welbeck.jpg 1620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 819px) 100vw, 819px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lacroix is not the same as Henderson and Welbeck. But he still represents a change in the system. The Frenchman turned 26 in February and would break into the top-10 oldest Chelsea signings of the BlueCo era. But he&#8217;s perhaps the most-important signing. Lacroix brings Premier League experience and starting-lineup quality at centre-back, one of Chelsea&#8217;s weakest positions. He ranked highly for his interceptions (45) and clearances (252) in the Premier League, as part of one of the league&#8217;s better defences. Of course, he&#8217;ll be required to do less defending for Chelsea, but these are good qualities to have. And his passing isn&#8217;t too bad, either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Combined, the rumoured trio have 1,098 top-flight appearances between them, which is exactly what Chelsea need.<\/p>\n\n\n<h3><strong>Read more:<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/bet\/football-tips\/premier-league\/\"><strong>Premier League predictions &amp; tips<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/outright-markets\/premier-league-title-odds\/\"><strong>Premier League outright odds <\/strong><\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/news\/\"><strong>Latest football news<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/bet\/betting-sites\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Best betting sites<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/bet\/betting-sites\/best-free-bet-offers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Best free bet offers<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/bet\/football-tips\/accumulator\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Football accumulator tips<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chelsea are making a couple of shock moves in the 2026 summer transfer window. The Blues have spent the past few years buying young players, either to build for the future or to sell and be able to retain a profit. But it hasn&#8217;t worked on the pitch for Chelsea, who are preparing for a&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":1476446,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":"Chelsea transfers","_yoast_wpseo_title":"","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Chelsea transfers: Why Xabi Alonso has the Blues going back on their previous strategy of avoiding older signings.","footnotes":""},"tags":[],"features-category":[],"squawka-category":[],"class_list":["post-1476422","features","type-features","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":{"external_featured_image_url":"","hide_featured_image_pattern":false},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.0 (Yoast SEO v28.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Why Xabi Alonso has Chelsea breaking their transfer rule this summer | Squawka | EN<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Chelsea transfers: Why Xabi Alonso has the 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