Xabi Alonso will take on Fulham in his first Premier League match as Chelsea manager but the Spaniard will be without one suspended star for the fixture in August
07:00, 20 Jun 2026
Xabi Alonso
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Xabi Alonso is BlueCo's latest appointment as Chelsea manager(Image: Oscar Del Pozo/AFP)
Xabi Alonso's schedule has now been confirmed for his debut season as Chelsea manager, with a west London derby against Fulham the Spaniard's first match following his appointment.
A short trip to Craven Cottage awaits Alonso and the Blues on August 24 in the Premier League. That is a few days before Alonso takes his first competitive match at Stamford Bridge, with Brighton the visitors to west London on August 29 (date subject to change).
Unfortunately for Alonso, Wesley Fofana, signed from Leicester City for a potential £75million total package almost four years ago, will be available for neither game. Fofana was shown a red card on the final day of the season when Chelsea were beaten away at Sunderland.
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The Frenchman was sent off for the second time in a Premier League season and as per the competition's rules, he will serve a two-match suspension at the start of the new campaign. Alonso will be without Fofana for the trip to Fulham and the home match with Brighton, but by then he will be hoping a new centre-back will be available to him anyway.
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Chelsea are prioritising signing a new central defender during the summer transfer window, sources say; someone who can be a long-term partner to Levi Colwill. The Blues tried to sign Dean Huijsen last year but the Spain international ended up choosing Real Madrid and then went in for Jeremy Jacquet in the January window but the young French defender favoured a switch to Liverpool instead.
The west Londoners have Maxence Lacroix on their radar, sources say, though a move for the Crystal Palace defender, who has three years remaining on his contract at Selhurst Park, is expected to be expensive. Elsewhere, Chelsea insiders remain tight-lipped about their transfer targets this summer as the Blues look to hand Alonso a competitive squad in time for his debut season in the Stamford Bridge dugout.
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