Stamford Bridge, Chelsea, UK
Stamford Bridge, Chelsea, UK
Suffice to say, Xabi Alonso is not messing around in his first season as a manager in the Premier League as new Chelsea boss. With the summer transfer window now having concluded, their business within it produced a whirlwind of activity.
With no less than 11 incomings and a whopping 21 outgoings, Chelsea have a completely new-look squad. So far, it’s paying off, having won their opening two games of the campaign.
Such a strategy can be incredibly risky, though. With so much upheaval having taken place over the course of the summer, how will it work out for the Blues long-term?
That’s what we’ll try and answer today. Before that, however, let’s take a brief (or as brief as it can be) look at all of Chelsea’s transfer deals over the past few weeks.
𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐒𝐄𝐀 𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐌𝐀𝐃𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐅 𝐀 𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐄𝐔𝐑𝐎𝐒 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐆𝐎𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐒 🤯💰
🇦🇷 Enzo Fernández → Man City — €145M
🇧🇷 Andrey Santos → Man United — €56.3M (+€2.3M)
🇸🇳 Nicolas Jackson → Aston Villa — €55.5M (+€20.5M)
🇪🇸 Marc… pic.twitter.com/nn5ek6NmQk
— 433 (@433) September 1, 2026
Every incoming transfer conducted by Chelsea this summer
Morgan Rogers – Aston Villa (£117m)
Maxence Lacroix – Crystal Palace (£52m)
Marco Palestra – Atalanta (£47m)
Geovany Quenda – Sporting CP (£44m)
Valentin Barco – RC Strasbourg (£33.6m)
Emmanuel Emegha – RC Strasbourg (£21m)
Pep Chavarria – Rayo Vallecano (£18m)
Emi Martinez – Aston Villa (£7.5m)
Danny Welbeck – Brighton (£5m)
Dastan Satpaev – Kairat Almaty (£2m)
Jordan Henderson – Brentford (free)
Every outgoing transfer conducted by Chelsea this summer
Enzo Fernandez – Manchester City (£125m)
Marc Cucurella – Real Madrid (£51.8m)
Andrey Santos – Manchester United (£50m)
Liam Delap – Nottingham Forest (£50m)
Nicolas Jackson – Aston Villa (£47.5m)
Trevoh Chalobah – Como (£25.7m)
Tyrique George – Everton (£24m)
Marc Guiu – RB Leipzig (£14.6m)
Tosin Adarabioyo – Tottenham (£7m)
Omari Kellyman – RC Strasbourg (£5.1m)
Jimmy-Jay Morgan – West Brom (£4m)
David Datro Fofana – Servette FC (£2.1m)
Benoit Badiashile – Napoli (loan)
Alejandro Garnacho – Aston Villa (loan)
Mykhailo Mudryk – Tottenham (loan)
Dastan Satpaev – Burnley (loan)
Axel Disasi – Crystal Palace (loan)
Caleb Wiley – Preston (loan)
Mamadou Sarr – Real Sociedad (loan)
Filip Jorgensen – RC Strasbourg (loan)
Dario Essugo (loan)
Where will Chelsea finish in the Premier League table this season?
Obviously, right now, it’s hard to say. Their first two games of the season, where they defeated Fulham and Brighton, nonetheless gave us positive indications of the Blues’ future.
Going forwards, they look very difficult to stop. Alonso’s 3-4-3 system demands a lot out of his players in an attacking sense, as their wingbacks and forwards consistently create overloads to overwhelm backlines.
Still, we’ll see how they get on against a more erudite defence. Neither Fulham nor Brighton are particularly defensive outfits, preferring to play vibrant, expansive football. In this sense, Chelsea merely beat them both at their own game.
This weekend, Chelsea will face a real acid test when they take on London rivals Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners look more formidable than ever – they, too, have won their first two games and have done so without conceding a goal.
Can Chelsea be the first team to breach Mikel Arteta’s defence? They’ve scored seven goals in two games thus far, more than any other Premier League club at this early stage of the season. It’s a real case of the unstoppable force meeting the immovable object.
Chelsea will enter that game as the betting underdogs. According to Oddschecker, they have odds on average of 4/1 to emerge victorious – can they rock the apple cart and score a major upset?