**Chelsea team news vs Fulham has received an early boost after Romeo Lavia, Estêvão Willian and Jamie Gittens all featured in the Blues’ final pre-season friendly.**
All three came off the bench during the 3-1 victory over Real Sociedad at Stamford Bridge, easing concerns over Xabi Alonso’s attacking and midfield depth before the Premier League opener.
[Chelsea travel to Craven Cottage on Monday 24 August](https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/article/chelseas-2026-27-premier-league-fixtures-announced) at 8pm BST. The fixture is Alonso’s first competitive match in charge and will be shown live on Sky Sports in the UK.
Lavia, Estêvão and Gittens were all introduced after 76 minutes against Real Sociedad.
Lavia replaced Moises Caicedo and quickly showed flashes of his quality, including a driving run and pass into Joao Pedro.
Gittens replaced Cole Palmer and operated inside from the left, while Estêvão came on for Pedro Neto and immediately provided another direct attacking option.
Their involvement matters because all three give Alonso alternatives in areas where competition is already fierce.
Lavia offers another central-midfield option at a time when Enzo Fernandez’s future continues to generate transfer speculation.
Estêvão and Gittens provide additional attacking depth behind Morgan Rogers, Palmer and Joao Pedro, who currently appear closest to forming Alonso’s first-choice front line.
Chelsea’s squad is also continuing to change before the season begins. [Benoit Badiashile is set for a Napoli medical this week as Alonso reduces his defensive options](https://readchelsea.com/2026/08/17/benoit-badiashile-napoli-medical-chelsea-romano/).
There is still a full week of training before Fulham, so involvement against Sociedad does not guarantee any of the trio a starting place.
It does, however, give Alonso considerably more flexibility.
Chelsea ended pre-season with Rogers scoring and Pedro adding two more goals. Now Lavia, Estêvão and Gittens have also proved fit enough to get back onto the pitch.
Alonso’s selection headache before Craven Cottage is getting bigger rather than smaller.