After Enzo Maresca left the club under a cloud, the strangest of appointments in Liam Rosenior initially looked to be a masterstroke after some great results.
Huge coup for Chelsea to land Xabi Alonso
A lack of authority, intensity, importance and gravitas from the 41-year-old was soon clear, however, and Chelsea's collective form fell off a cliff in the latter half of the 2025/26 campaign.
As a result, the Blues are about as far from their owner's dreams of being the best in Europe as it's possible to be, and that is just one of the issues facing Alonso once the Spaniard gets going.
Another might well be the interference from the men upstairs, who have gone through a number of high-profile candidates since taking over the club from Roman Abramovich.
Maresca, considered worthy enough to be Pep Guardiola's successor at Man City, USMNT manager Mauricio Pochettino, England coach Thomas Tuchel and others have all been dispensed with, which suggests that Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali either have no patience or no idea how English football works...
Transfer market business beckons
Success has to be earned, not bought, and if Chelsea can wipe the slate clean for Alonso and start from there, Stamford Bridge might yet see some success in the upcoming campaign.
Alonso has already shown his managerial qualities, taking Bayer Leverkusen to within one game of an unbeaten treble.
Not allowed to make a dent at the Santiago Bernabeu before Real Madrid's senior players decided enough was enough, he also has a point to prove in West London.
Aside from the football that his team plays, he will be judged on the strength of his transfer market dealings, both in terms of who he sells and who he brings to the club.
Eli Junior Kroupi could help fire Blues to glory
With Liam Delap flattering to deceive for long periods in his debut season at Stamford Bridge, it's entirely possible that the centre-forward could be shipped out before a ball is kicked in 2026/27.
Alonso will need someone to play alongside Joao Pedro, given that the former Brighton man works better in a pair than as a lone target man.
One player who is apparently being considered is Bournemouth's excellent striker, Eli Junior Kroupi, who is seemingly wanted by a number of top clubs.
In his first Premier League campaign with the Cherries, whilst still a teenager, the now 20-year-old Frenchman scored 13 Premier League goals in 33 appearances, making him the club's top scorer.
Would Bournemouth let Kroupi leave?
After having allowed Antoine Semenyo to depart for Man City in January, to lose another natural goalscorer, especially after seeing manager Andoni Iraola move to Liverpool too, would certainly be counterproductive for a team that finished in sixth place last season, and who will be playing in the Europa League in 26/27 as a result.
Aside from his goals, Kroupi's movement and game intelligence won him a plethora of admirers, whilst a 68.42% shot accuracy was the best in the Bournemouth squad, as was his conversion rate of 22.41%.
26 total shots on target were only one less than Semenyo's output, and his nine big chances created were more than double any of his teammates.
Of those players who had more than 10 big chances across the season, Kroupi's 75% conversion was so far ahead of any other player as to be embarrassing. To give some idea, Semenyo was the closest to him at just 40%.
Improvement needed in the physical aspects
A 76.51% pass completion wasn't outstanding, but when set against the squad totals, it's more than acceptable. Even his crossing accuracy of 16.67% had him firmly in the pack in this regard.
One area that Chelsea would need to address if they decided to make good on their interest in the player is his success in one-on-ones.
Of those Bournemouth players who regularly played in 2025/26, Kroupi had the lowest percentage of success at just 30.77%.
Whilst it's accepted that this side of the game isn't necessarily his forte, in a team such as Chelsea, who give merit to the more physical aspects as well as attacking intensity, it's clear that Kroupi would need to step up.
Under a tutor as able as Alonso, and with many, many years ahead of him at the top level, there's no reason why the player couldn't see a distinct improvement in his all-round game, which would potentially make him a bargain for the West Londoners were they able to convince the South Coast side to do business.
Jason Pettigrove has been the features writer for Flashscore since 2025, utilising Opta data to form the basis of his articles. He has previously worked for high profile football clubs, news and media outlets, both in print and digital, and can usually be found watching FC Barcelona when time permits. You can read more of his pieces here.
