Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso has backed playmaker Cole Palmer to return to world class form ahead of their Premier League opening match at Fulham. Alonso spoke of how Palmer is pushing hard to avoid a recurrence of the injuries that disrupted his previous season.
Palmer struggled with a groin problem and suffered a fractured little toe after stubbing it on a door at home during the 2025-26 campaign. His limited influence on the pitch contributed to Chelsea finishing 10th in the Premier League table.
"Cole is determined to enjoy his football," Alonso said. "He wants to be fit. He wants to feel healthy. He wants to have a good connection with the players around him. We have this goal. If we are able to reach him and he feels that flow in the game and connects well with the players, I'm sure his level is top class, world class, and that he will have a great season."
Alonso explained that players sometimes need to experience difficult moments with injuries to learn from them. "Cole has gone through a difficult period with an injury and now he's working really hard to have the prevention to not feel those symptoms back," the manager added. "Since the first day, he's been working really hard to avoid that."
Chelsea, based at Stamford Bridge in West London, are seeking to climb back up the Premier League standings after a disappointing 10th-place finish. Alonso took charge at Stamford Bridge following a successful managerial spell with German side Bayer Leverkusen, having previously enjoyed a distinguished playing career with Liverpool, Real Madrid, and Bayern Munich.
Palmer, an England international who operates as an attacking midfielder and playmaker, remains central to Chelsea's creative plans. The Blues face local West London rivals Fulham at Craven Cottage, where they will look to establish early momentum for the new campaign.
Discipline and Red Cards
Discipline was a major problem for Chelsea throughout the 2025-26 season, during which the team received eight red cards, the most of any club in the Premier League. In their visit to Fulham last season, defender Marc Cucurella was dismissed after 22 minutes as 10-man Chelsea lost 2-1.
Alonso, who has fined players at previous clubs, addressed how he will handle disciplinary infractions at Stamford Bridge. He explained that any response depends on the context and that he does not maintain written rules for such situations.
"You can have a red card. It's football. It can happen. There is always a context for everything but I don't have written rules for this kind of thing," Alonso said. "We need to assess the particular cases. But for sure, having emotional control gives you the game control that we want to avoid these kinds of situations."
Goalkeeper Selection
Ahead of the fixture against Fulham, Robert Sanchez is expected to start in goal for Chelsea over Mike Penders, although Alonso refused to officially confirm his starting goalkeeper.
"We want healthy competition in all the positions," Alonso stated when asked about the selection between Sanchez and Penders. "We will see. The pitch is the boss of everything. I don't decide. The players need to show me."
