It’s remarkable that there is such a feel-good factor about Chelsea right now after finishing tenth in the Premier League last season. That’s the Xabi Alonso factor for you.
BlueCo have shown ambition from the moment they assumed ownership, but the scattergun spending strategy has been streamlined. Chelsea are still among the most affluent outfits in the country, but Alonso has taken far more transfer-market control than his recent predecessors, and it has shown in the build-up to the new campaign.
Take, for example, the record-breaking signing of Morgan Rogers. This might feel paradoxical to the argument, but the Three Lions attacker is the perfect fit.
Why Morgan Rogers was worth every penny
Rogers is the most expensive Brit in football history. Chelsea believe they have signed one of the world’s most talented attacking midfielders, with pundit Jamie Redknapp indeed claiming the 23-year-old is “one of the world’s best“.
Across two-and-a-half years with Aston Villa, Rogers scored 31 goals and supplied 29 assists. His powerful running, unpredictable movement and combative strength makes him a rare profile indeed, and with Alejandro Garnacho having moved to Aston Villa on loan, Rogers has been informed that he will take up a wide role, thus allowing Cole Palmer to continue in the No. 10 berth.
Some questioned whether such an outlay was required when Palmer already inhabits a leading role in the Chelsea attacking system, but as Rogers remarked, “We have completely different qualities“.
The hope is that Palmer will be re-energised by Rogers’ arrival. For sure, Palmer fell by the wayside last season, some distance beneath the lofty standard he set for himself across his first two terms in west London.
But perhaps Chelsea need more sureness in the centre of the park. Couple this with Enzo Fernandez‘s possible sale, and Chelsea could do with another all-action playmaker.
Chelsea eyeing move for the new Bruno Fernandes
Palmer, 24, has lost his position as the Premier League’s pre-eminent playmaker. That tag now belongs to Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes. The Three Lions sensation can reclaim it, but some competition could bear dividends for the wider Chelsea project.
According to Chelsea insider Simon Phillips, Alonso is leading the charge to sign Nottingham Forest captain Morgan Gibbs-White, whose creativity and versatility in midfield is suggestive of a tailor-made fit at Stamford Bridge.
Something of a talisman at the City Ground, Gibbs-White has become the centrepiece of the Nottingham Forest project. He is creative and incisive when through on goal. He has outscored every single Premier League rival in 2026, instrumental in guiding the Tricky Trees away from a relegation dogfight last season.
Gibbs-White can do it all, and in that, he’s got a certain likeness to someone such as Fernandes. You can see why Chelsea are developing a vested interest, albeit with Forest unlikely to be willing sellers, having just raked in £116m for Elliot Anderson.
In fact, the prolific midfielder has actually been described as the “most similar player to Bruno Fernandes” out there by one prominent football scout.
|
Premier League Top Scorers in 2026 |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Player |
Club |
Goals |
|
Morgan Gibbs-White |
Nott’m Forest |
12 |
|
Igor Thiago |
Brentford |
11 |
|
Ollie Watkins |
Aston Villa |
10 |
|
Viktor Gyokeres |
Arsenal |
9 |
|
Joao Pedro |
Chelsea |
9 |
A haul of 15 goals and four assists in the Premier League last season is hardly bad going, but that’s only one side to his game. The England star is a natural-born leader, but he has also shifted across numerous different roles for Forest. In 2023/24, under Nuno Espírito Santo, the outfit were far more attritional, and this was reflected through the player’s 5.3 duels won on average each game.
Such dynamism and flavour across the midfield game suggests that Gibbs-White could even prove a level above Rogers, should he sign for Chelsea this summer.
For instance, Gibbs-White was actually the second-highest-scoring Englishman in the league last term, behind only Ollie Watkins, with Rogers chipping in with just ten himself. His 19 total goal involvements in the league also saw him finish ahead of Rogers in that regard (16).
Not only did Gibbs-White score goals with frightening consistency and precision and style last season, but he conducted and won duels and proved a leader for his teammates to follow.
If Palmer does flatter to deceive once again over the coming year, having someone such as Gibbs-White in the squad could bear dividends. Who knows, he might even establish himself as Alonso’s main man.