Chelsea transfer news: Xabi Alonso's biggest priorities for the 2026 summer transfer window

Having appointed Xabi Alonso as their new head coach, Chelsea have the opportunity to rebuild after a disastrous 2025-26 campaign where they missed out on Champions League football.

However, regardless of Alonso's past achievements, it is going to take a shake-up from top to bottom for Chelsea to regain the ground that they have lost on the Premier League's elite with a 10th-placed finish.

Selling Marc Cucurella to Real Madrid will divide opinion, as will other decisions made by the Spaniard and club's hierarchy this campaign, but some of Chelsea's errors with their past transfer business and strategy have become glaringly obvious over the past 12 months.

Here, Sports Mole takes a look at Chelsea's biggest priorities during the 2026 summer transfer window.

Chelsea transfer priority: Height and physicality

Of the 52 goals that Chelsea conceded in the Premier League last season, 19 came from set pieces. While eight teams conceded more through that method, it is an area which needs addressing.

The biggest reason for Chelsea's struggles in defending free kicks and corners can be put down to their lack of height. Aside from their two central defenders and centre-forward, Chelsea were consistently a small team by Premier League standards throughout 2025-26.

How can that be addressed? The exit of Cucurella should lead to a taller player in Jorrel Hato being deployed at left-back, but there is also the possibility of a back three being deployed by Alonso that could see Josh Acheampong used as a right-sided centre-back.

Nevertheless, it is not just height that has been the issue. For all the goals and assists that he provides, Enzo Fernandez being used as a number eight alongside Moises Caicedo frequently left Chelsea exposed in the engine room. Their last Premier League win with that two-man partnership was a fortunate three points versus Brentford in January.

Chelsea desperately need a physically-imposing central midfielder, partly to get the best out of Caicedo whose stock has dropped since the turn of the year.

Chelsea transfer priority: Comply with financial regulations

While this Chelsea squad clearly needs strengthening, BlueCo have a responsibility to adapt their strategy and ensure that their positions with the Premier League's and UEFA's financial regulations are protected.

They were already pushing their luck in that regard even before missing out on Champions League football. Cashing in on Cucurella is a strong start, but very few of this squad should be viewed as unsellable when they were fined by UEFA as recently as last year.

Chelsea have got Geovany Quenda, Emanuel Emegha and Dastan Satpaev arriving from Sporting Lisbon, Strasbourg and Kairat Almaty respectively. They will only further clutter the attacking ranks, which is full of talent who are inconsistent, have been outright disappointing or have struggled to stay fit.

There has been talk of asking prices such as £40m for Liam Delap, who scored just twice this season. BlueCo seemingly have the audacity to demand a profit on a player who is currently one of the worst number nines in Chelsea's Premier League history.

If stances such as this one remain, it will only leave Chelsea backed into a corner come the closing days of the summer transfer window. More realistic valuations and loans with substantial fees should be negotiated for fringe players as soon as possible.

Chelsea transfer priority: Add experience

The departure of Cucurella has left Chelsea with just two players - Tosin Adarabioyo and Robert Sanchez - who are 27 years of age or older. That particular duo are not viewed as certain starters for next season.

As it stands, just three potential starters for the first game of 2026-27 - Reece James, Pedro Neto and Fernandez - are 25 or older, and it emphasises the need for at least two ready-made Premier League players to be added to this group.

That said, it is easier said than done to identify a player who has the profile to fit seamlessly into this team without it losing quality. A centre-back or centre-midfielder are the only options, unless Joao Pedro is going to be used as a number 10 and a target man is signed to be a number nine.

Dusan Vlahovic would represent a shrewd piece of business for the attack. There has been criticism of the recent form of someone who is leaving Juventus on a free transfer, but the 26-year-old Serbia international, which 241 appearances in Serie A and the Champions League across his career, still contributed 10 goals from 1,162 minutes in those two competitions last season.

Chelsea transfer priority: Acknowledge mistakes of last 12 months

While Chelsea are lacking in some areas of the pitch, their failures in 2025-26 were due to different head coaches being stubborn and reluctant to make obvious changes.

Josh Acheampong should have been used far more often at right-back. Wesley Fofana played too many times after individual mistakes. Hato deserved more opportunities in place of Cucurella. Andrey Santos was viewed as the odd-one-out too often. Delap was presented with chance after chance without offering any encouragement. Marc Guiu was wrongly ignored, both for his pressing and energy that he could have brought to the attack.

That is a long list for a club that supporters should trust to make the right decisions. Everyone has an opinion and everything is open to interpretation, but the above six-point list continued when Chelsea were setting unwanted record after unwanted record.

Whether it is the head coach, hierarchy or players, there are too many personnel at Chelsea who have made mistakes since winning the Club World Cup, and supporters are hoping that the presence and authority of someone like Alonso can only bring some reality to Chelsea's way of thinking.