Xabi Alonso has wasted no time making hard calls – four players have already been shown the door, and the overhaul is far from finished. This is exactly the kind of decisive squad management we’ve been crying out for at Stamford Bridge.
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Football London‘s Kasra Moradi reports that Alonso has already sanctioned four departures since taking charge at the start of July – Marc Cucurella, Tyrique George, Alejandro Garnacho, and Andrey Santos have all been moved on as the new manager shapes the squad to his preference ahead of 2026/27.
Four out the door – and Alonso’s fingerprints are all over this
Cucurella’s exit to Real Madrid was the one that raised eyebrows. He was one of the better left-backs in the league, openly talked up the idea of working under Alonso, and then left anyway – driven by a desire to return to Spain after five years in England and the pull of Madrid proving too strong. Frankly, you can’t hold that against him.
For Chelsea it still made financial sense. The Blues reportedly made £17.5m profit in accounting terms on the fee paid to Brighton, selling a 28-year-old in a way that actually improves the books – not nothing for a club still without a front-of-shirt sponsor and sitting outside European competition. Jorrel Hato’s emergence at left-back last season softened the blow considerably.
George going to Everton for £18m plus £6m in add-ons is straightforward business. He made 37 appearances across his entire Chelsea career and had already spent half of last season on loan at Goodison. With Pedro Neto, Estevao, and Morgan Rogers now occupying the wide positions, there simply wasn’t a path for him here.
Santos to Manchester United for £48m is the one we might look back on. The Brazilian asked to leave because Caicedo, Fernandez, Lavia, and Essugo were all ahead of him – that’s a fair read of his situation – but £48m for a 20-something with his profile is solid business, and Alonso clearly wanted to use that fee to address what the squad actually needs.
Garnacho confirmed out – and the rebuild is just getting started
The Garnacho situation tells you most about how Alonso is operating. The Argentine has agreed a season-long loan to Aston Villa with a £42.5m mandatory buyout clause attached if certain conditions are met. – the writing was on the wall from day one.
At his first press conference, Alonso was asked directly about Garnacho and made his position clear – there was interest from other clubs, and the manager wasn’t standing in the way. With Rogers arriving for £117m, the numbers simply didn’t add up for Garnacho to stay.
The financial picture across these exits is important context too. Chelsea are rebuilding without European revenue, and moving players on at decent fees – even if some represent paper losses on original outlay – creates the headroom to keep adding. Talks with Crystal Palace over Maxence Lacroix are progressing, with Palace seeking around £60m, and Alonso is understood to want a top central midfielder after an £8m Granit Xhaka bid was knocked back. The window is nowhere near done.
In other news…
– here’s what that told us about his plans.
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