Chelsea's transfer strategy is paying off - now it's time for Alonso to deliver

Chelsea have shaken up the transfer market since the arrival of BlueCo as their new owners, and their constant churn of players has drawn the ire of fans and pundits alike.

The two-time Champions League winners have spent over €2 billion on new players over the last four years, while earning roughly €1.4 billion through sales during the same time period. The result? One Club World Cup, one Europa Conference League and a host of disappointing Premier League finishes.

Xabi Alonso is the latest manager that BlueCo have turned to in a bid to finally compete for English top flight glory and while Arsenal are the clear favourites to retain their title, Chelsea are considered to be among the Gunners’ most likely challenges this term, and for good reason.

Their business in the market wasn’t perfect over the summer, but the Blues addressed a number of key issues, offloaded some dead weight and they have some of the best players in their Premier League at their disposal.

In fact, they are now the only club in world football to have five players with an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of at least €100 million.

Barcelona have two (Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi), Real Madrid have three (Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham and Yan Diomande), Manchester City have four (Erling Haaland, Ayyoub Bouaddi, Enzo Fernandez and Elliot Anderson), but it’s Chelsea who stand alone with five.

Alonso may not have the strongest team in regards to his back-up options, however he has five of the 24 most valuable players in world football at his disposal and the fourth-most valuable squad in Europe.

There are no longer any excuses for Chelsea; they have to start delivering.

Chelsea’s transfer strategy is as much about selling as it is about buying. They need to maximise profits in order to fund their lucrative business in the market and they achieved this goal over the summer, with Nicolas Jackson, Liam Delap, Andrey Santos and the aforementioned Fernandez among their big-money sales.

Morgan Rogers and Moises Caicedo were both signed for hefty fees from fellow Premier League clubs, but Cole Palmer, Joao Pedro and Estevao Willian are all now worth significantly more than Chelsea paid to sign them, and this is extremely encouraging news for the Blues hierarchy.

However, it has certainly ramped up the pressure on Alonso.

He has four of the most valuable attackers in the world to choose from, in addition to Caicedo in midfield, and Chelsea simply need to challenge for the Premier League title soon.

Alonso has overseen an inconsistent start to the 2026-27 campaign, however Chelsea are firmly in contention for the Champions League places and they could feasibly mount a bid to rival Arsenal for glory if they are able to put together a strong run of form before Christmas.

There are still significant concerns surrounding Chelsea’s defensive options, however Alonso has arguably the best depth of attackers in the Premier League and although he has only just got his feet under the table at Stamford Bridge, it’s already time for him to deliver.

Read also:

'I'm living again' - €26m star drops major Chelsea transfer hint

‘They’re on a different level’ – Arteta sent major Saliba transfer warning

November transfer values: Dowman explodes, Wirtz crashes and Chelsea face a problem

Chelsea ready to open talks with Xabi Alonso favourite

Alex Baena to Arsenal: The perfect signing for Mikel Arteta?