The full transcript from Xabi Alonso's pre-Luton Town press conference ahead of Chelsea's Carabao Cup second round tie at Stamford Bridge on Thursday evening
Xabi Alonso
Xabi Alonso during a press conference(Image: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC)
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Xabi Alonso took his latest press conference on Wednesday afternoon ahead of Chelsea's Carabao Cup second round tie at home to Luton Town.
The Blues welcome the League One side to Stamford Bridge on Thursday night in a bid to reach the third round of the League Cup. After a gruelling 3-2 victory at Craven Cottage on Monday evening, Alonso is expected to make wholesale changes to his line-up with the new season well underway.
Alonso spoke to a room full of reporters on Wednesday afternoon to preview his side's cup tie. football.london were live in Cobham to bring you the full transcript from the Chelsea manager.
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What's the latest on Moises Caicedo and Marco Palestra? Are they fit to play?
No [to] both, not for tomorrow. Let's see, hopefully that Moi can make it for the weekend and maybe we need to check a little bit more with Marco.
Were there any fresh injury concerns after Monday night?
No.
Cole Palmer is absolutely fine?
Yes.
Will Mike Penders be given a chance?
He's in the squad, so he has an opportunity. We will decide and give the team to the players tomorrow, so I prefer to expect that they know first.
Do you expect Enzo Fernandez to be involved tomorrow evening?
Yes, so we expect that he's involved, he's trained, he's training really well, he's a good professional and he will be involved.
Would you like him to remain a Chelsea player after the transfer deadline?
We want to have the best team possible. We know his qualities, he has shown it and we have to wait, but we will think about tomorrow and let's see how things develop.
What conversations have you had with Robert Sanchez after Monday night?
No, normal conversations. We have talked more about the team thing, about what we did well and what we have to do better. It was more about understanding the context. Every game is going to be important because we are in this process that we still need to develop things, we need to make adjustments that are more team-related.
Liam Delap is moving to Nottingham Forest. Is this a good move for all parties?
About non-official things, I don't have anything to comment.
For Chelsea fans travelling to the game tomorrow night, what sort of starting XI can they expect? Will there be lots of changes?
I have to say this year, knowing that we have time for all the competitions, every cup is important, every game and we want to have the best competitive team to face Luton with all the respect that everything deserves and Luton is going to be the first one in Carabao.
Is it important if players want to leave that you let them leave subject to the right conditions coming in?
It's always understanding the context, the situation, timings, circumstances, so there is not a defined rule for everything. You need to know how things have worked, what you want, what you want for the future, so I don't have the rules in stone. We need to assess each situation.
If a very big player leaves, do you think you need signings to come in to replace that?
We assess the whole squad as a unit and in that squad we want good balance in terms of quality, in terms of positions, in terms of personalities, so we are aware of everything and we are prepared for whatever.
Is Pedro Neto happy with being asked to play at wing-back?
Wing-back, winger, you can call it whatever you want, but the main thing is the quality of the players, that they adjust and that we have balance with the players around. That makes sense, that makes the team better and that's always my main focus, that the team is better with the qualities and knowing the best quality of each individual player.
Just more generally, is Neto's future uncertain to you? Have you had any conversations with him about his future?
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Well, about conversations, not [going too] much into detail, but we want to have the best possible squad and let's see what happens.
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