Xabi Alonso walks into Chelsea with the sort of squad problem managers rarely want on day one. The club's website lists 46 first-team players, there are five sporting directors, and spending has already reached approximately £336million in the summer window.

The size of the squad

The most awkward number is 46. Chelsea also have six senior strikers on the books, with only João Pedro described as assured of his position. That kind of overlap makes selection harder before a ball is even kicked, and it also leaves little room for a manager to settle on a stable attacking group.

Alonso has already signalled that he sees the issue in structural terms. Speaking to Mirror, he said: "I had a view of Chelsea from the outside. I could see the positives and my concerns so I addressed them." He added: "You need the right balance of personalities and stages of maturity, with players in their early 20s, early 30s and everything in between."

That sounds like more than a standard managerial line. Chelsea finished 10th in the Premier League last season, so this is not a team starting from a strong platform. It needs trimming, clearer roles and less overlap, especially when the club is still carrying an overstuffed forward line.

The recruitment picture Alonso inherits

There is also the age and recruitment mix. Danny Welbeck, 35, joined from Brighton for £5m, while Jordan Henderson, 36, arrived on a free transfer from Brentford. Those moves do not tell the whole story, but they do show a club trying to balance experience with the sort of heavy spending that has already pushed the summer bill to £336million.

The bigger issue is not one signing or one department. It is the feeling that Chelsea have built a squad that needs sorting before it can be coached properly. Alonso has been frank about the need for shared ideas and joint decisions, and that is probably the sensible starting point here. His first job is less about tactics than reducing the noise around the group he has inherited.

What comes next is a pre-season window that should tell us whether Chelsea can get the numbers down and the hierarchy clearer before the Premier League campaign begins.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →