Chelsea 2026-27: Stats show Xabi Alonso could repeat Antonio Conte approach

Nearly seven weeks on from the announcement that he was the new Chelsea manager, Xabi Alonso finally starts his new job on Thursday.

After a 10th-placed finish in the Premier League table under the Spaniard's predecessors, there is hope that the legendary midfielder can spark an upturn in fortunes at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea's failure to secure European football for 2026-27 came as a major blow, partly due to some of the club's up-and-coming homegrown talent having to find playing time elsewhere.

This is where it starts. ? pic.twitter.com/NW7dXDx51X
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) July 9, 2026

Nevertheless, it also provides Alonso with more time on the training pitch at a time when BlueCo and the club's fanbase deem it imperative that a return to the top five in the Premier League, as a bare minimum, is secured.

Here, Sports Mole takes a look at the statistics which suggest that Alonso could look to emulate the approach of Antonio Conte in 2016-17, another campaign when Chelsea lacked continental action.

Conte's Chelsea stats similar to Alonso's at Bayer Leverkusen

There are similarities between Chelsea's 2015-16 and 2025-26 campaigns. In the former, Jose Mourinho departed in December, two weeks earlier than Enzo Maresca left in the latter.

Furthermore, Chelsea also ended 2015-16 in 10th position, subsequently resulting in the appointment of Conte, who had previously been in charge of Italy.

In his first summer, four senior additions - David Luiz, Marcos Alonso, N'Golo Kante and Michy Batshuayi - were made, and it led to a far more streamlined approach when it came to his squad.

Throughout 2016-17, there were 10 Chelsea players who made at least 29 starts in the Premier League. Furthermore, there were only 14 squad members who featured on 20 or more occasions.

Not only did Conte reduce the numbers in his squad, he developed a familiar core and was unwavering with his approach. Despite only turning 30 at the end of that season, Cesc Fabregas only made 13 starts. Meanwhile, club legend John Terry featured in the first XI on just six occasions.

Chelsea lifted the Premier League title by seven points that season, Conte's consistent, and somewhat ruthless, selections paying off, and there is evidence to suggest that Alonso will do the same.

In Bayer Leverkusen's historic unbeaten Bundesliga title-winning campaign of 2023-24, as many as 18 players - across a 34-game season - featured on 20 occasions or more.

Even more significant, Alonso used just 24 different players across the course of that top-flight campaign, that occurring when also juggling their commitments on the continent as they reached the Europa League final.

Alonso's approach barely changed in 2024-25, despite the added pressure of Champions League football. Just 23 players were used in the Bundesliga, while 18 players featured 15 times or more.

If Alonso is prepared to rely on 23 or 24 players for a campaign with European football, it is highly unlikely that he will work with a squad at Chelsea that contains bigger numbers.

How are Alonso trends different to Chelsea's 2025-26?

As a result, there can only be significant change on the way for Chelsea, whose starting lineup consistently changed for Premier League games last season.

Some of that can be put down to winning the Club World Cup last summer and having to navigate commitments in other competitions. Chelsea played 21 matches across the Champions League, FA Cup and EFL Cup in 2025-26.

Nevertheless, the fact that only 11 players in last season's Chelsea squad made at least 15 starts in the Premier League is dismal statistic.

Just 18 players made at least 15 appearances in the division in total, whereas as many as 30 different players were used across a 38-game Premier League campaign.

Even with Andrey Santos and Jesse Derry expected to leave Chelsea in due course, there are still over 30 players in the senior ranks when everyone is fit and including talent who have returned from loans.

While Chelsea undoubtedly need to add experienced fresh faces to their squad, the stats suggest that Alonso will be undertaking a substantial cull if he is to achieve his ideal squad numbers.