The former Liverpool star controversially left Real Madrid at the start of 2026, just over six months after taking charge in the Spanish capital, and his move to Stamford Bridge offers the Spaniard an instant chance to bounce back.
There's no European football on the horizon for Chelsea in 2026/27, so Alonso's sole focus will be on domestic matters, as the Blues aim to chase down their rivals.
Chelsea's 2026 summer preseason fixtures and results
* All KO times set as UK
July 28th v West Sydney Wanderers (Accor Stadium, Australia - 10:45am)
August 1st v Tottenham (Accor Stadium, Australia - 10:45am)
August 5th v Juventus (Kai Tak Stadium, Hong Kong - 12:30pm)
August 8th v AC Milan (Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Indonesia - 1pm)
August 11th v Johor Darul Ta'zim (Sultan Ibrahim Stadium, Malaysia - 1pm)
Chelsea's first game of 2026/27 Premier League season
Alonso will take on Fulham in his Premier League managerial debut on Monday August 24th (8pm).
Chelsea 2026 summer transfer update
Marc Cucurella and Andrey Santos have moved on to Real Madrid and Manchester United respectively so far this summer. But, Alonso has spent big on incomings, with a club record £117M swoop for Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa alongside deals to bring in Geovany Quenda Emmanuel Emegha and Marco Palestra.