Chelsea FC Cobham training ground with tactical drill setup and coaching equipment at sunrise

Garnacho Snubbed as Alonso Hits Ground Running at Cobham

By Declan Farrow - 11th Jul 2026, 05:00pm

Xabi Alonso has officially begun his Chelsea tenure at Cobham, with new signings joining his first session – but Alejandro Garnacho was nowhere to be seen.

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Xabi Alonso took his first training session as Chelsea manager on 10 July, and Football London were there to document it. The Spaniard was right in the middle of every drill – passing the ball, barking instructions, and making it immediately clear how he intends to operate. After a tenth-place finish and a summer of significant overhaul, this is the reset we’ve been waiting for.

Xabi Alonso holding a Chelsea FC jersey in front of club branding.

Four new faces hit the training pitch

Marco Palestra, the £47m arrival from Atalanta, was the headline name on the grass – and he wasn’t alone. Geovany Quenda, signed from Sporting Lisbon for £40m, was also involved, alongside Emmanuel Emegha from Strasbourg and Kairat prodigy Dastan Satpayev. Four new arrivals in Alonso’s first session is a decent sign that recruitment and pre-season planning are actually joined up for once.

The quartet will add real competition across the frontline, which is exactly what this squad has needed. Alonso laid out his expectations plainly after the session. “That we share a feeling we are doing things the right way and that we are on the right path to success,” he said. “The potential of the team and the squad made me very excited.”

You can read more about what Alonso told the squad in his first address as Chelsea manager – it sets the tone for everything we saw on the training pitch here.

Garnacho absent – and the silence speaks loudly

Chelsea released several images from the session, and Alejandro Garnacho did not appear in any of them. He wasn’t called up for Argentina’s World Cup squad, so there’s no obvious reason for him to be missing. His absence is notable and, frankly, not all that surprising given where things stand.

Alejandro Garnacho performs an acrobatic kick during a match at Everton.

It’s understood the club is willing to sell the former Manchester United winger and will not sanction a loan move. That stance has been clear for a while now. Whether a buyer materialises at a suitable fee remains the question – and we’re not the only ones with transfer situations to resolve this summer. Garnacho’s debut campaign simply didn’t deliver enough to make him untouchable, and Alonso now has options in wide areas without needing to force him into his plans.

We’ll see how this develops over the coming weeks of pre-season, but right now it looks like Garnacho’s Chelsea future is heading in one direction.