England's Jude Bellingham-1
Whisper it quietly, but Chelsea are shaping up nicely ahead of the 2026/27 season. Xabi Alonso is fighting tooth and nail to fix the culture that has disrupted the Blues over the past several years.
It is one issue among many, but Chelsea's disciplinary record last season beggared belief. It told of deeper-rooted problems that need to be ironed out if there is going to be a real chance of winning silverware and returning to the top of the Premier League.
||
Most Red Cards in a Single Premier League Season
Season
2011/12
2009/20
2025/26
2013/14
2008/09
It's a difficult and complex problem, but Chelsea are putting things to rights. Alonso is making amends, already looking like the perfect manager to lead this project forward.
One method he has applied in search of resurgence at Stamford Bridge has been to tighten the screw around the club's English contingent.
Why Alonso is strengthening Chelsea's English spine
When Frank Lampard was at the helm, Chelsea's up-and-coming English talent was as strong as it had ever been. The likes of Mason Mount and Reece James and co ended up with Champions League gold medals, but that connection paved way for the industrialised touch of mega-money signings under BlueCo.
mason-mount-chelsea-craven-cottage-premier-league
Now, Alonso is indeed rewriting that script. Moreover, he is signing experience and guiding Chelsea away from a transfer policy that has focused on strengthening with up-and-coming quality. For the past three Premier League seasons, Chelsea have had the youngest squad in the division.
Danny Welbeck and Jordan Henderson will change that. Both English stars are deep into their thirties, and they bring a wealth of knowledge built over so many years in the Premier League.
Partner that with the £116m move to sign Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa, signed and sealed for weeks now, and you see a clear focus on Alonso's part to reorient the culture at this club.
Chelsea aren't done yet. They still have their sights set on further signings, with a rising England international playing for a certain London rival still on their radar.
Though the Blues might be unable to sign the best of them all in the Three Lions sphere - Jude Bellingham - in what would be a momentous signing, they might just have their sights on a player who shares one or two qualities with their world-renowned compatriot.
Chelsea eyeing move to sign Three Lions star
At left-back, Chelsea do appear to be closing in on a move to sign Pep Chavarria from Rayo Vallecano, a 28-year-old Spaniard who does feed into the newfound experience Alonso wants at Stamford Bridge. But BlueCo are still keeping their options open.
Speaking to talkSPORT during a recent transfer update, reporter Ben Jacobs has asserted that Chelsea have shown interest in Arsenal's Myles Lewis-Skelly, though he also acknowledged that Manchester United's long-standing interest in the 19-year-old "has some substance to it".
Lewis-Skelly-Arsenal
Jacobs has already revealed that "Arsenal's position was always they would engage for an astronomical offer", so it's clear that it's not going to be easy to pull this one off before the end of the summer window.
How much? We can't say. However, the Three Lions prospect has been hailed by editor Aaron Catterson-Reid as a "£100m footballer" in the making.
Lewis-Skelly has played most of his senior football as a left-back, but he is naturally a centre-midfielder, and having taken several chances in the role for title-chasing Arsenal toward the end of last season, there's no question that Alonso must be enticed by the potential of adding him to his brood.
The teenager has already chalked up 75 appearances for Arsenal, scoring once and supplying six assists. He might not be an attacking sensation like Bellingham, but he has something unique about him, with technical qualities and sureness in his own skillset to thrive in any environment.
Once tipped to be a "future captain" at the Emirates, there's certainly something to be said about the mentality that Lewis-Skelly, a Premier League captain, would bring to the side, thereby reinforcing further that culture Alonso is working so hard to embed.
He has also been said by pundit Jamie Carragher to "have a little bit of Bellingham" about him, a confident and combative player who is willing to take anybody on. He also has the talent to continue his development and grow into a superstar at Chelsea.
Jude-Bellingham-World-Cup-England
Bellingham might be out of reach, but players boasting the Real Madrid sensation's mentality are few and far between, and it could be a game-changer for a Chelsea team in transition, plucking from a rival and signing an English up-and-comer with world-class potential.
Chelsea forward Joao Pedro
Chelsea forward Joao Pedro