It's been another summer of change at Chelsea - and on the eve of a new Premier League season, there is so much to analyse at the club, with Xabi Alonso's reign kicking off, big-money transfers to be settled and a search for success on the pitch in their sights. In a special Sky Sports podcast - A big summer for... Chelsea - Peter Smith is joined by Sky Sports News reporter James Savundra and Sky Sports football journalist David Richardson to discuss the key talking points at the club, including Enzo Fernandez's future amid interest from Manchester City and a £120m price tag.
The arrival of £117m Morgan Rogers and his partnership with Cole Palmer was also on the agenda, along with Alonso's new tactical set-up and the surprise signings of experienced pair Jordan Henderson and Danny Welbeck, which signalled a shift in the club's transfer policy. Listen to the podcast below, watch it on the Sky Sports News YouTube channel or read on for the key points from the episode... Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player James Savundra: When I spoke to Xabi Alonso in his second week at work, he was glowing in his praise when it came to players like Reece James and Cole Palmer.
But he gave very little away when it came to Enzo Fernandez. He only gave short sentences. The only thing he confirmed was that he was looking forward to working with him, and that he's a great player, but he didn't say much more than that, which made you think that, at that point, the saga [over Fernandez's future] hadn't been resolved.
I know that Fernandez has got a contract for another six years, but I think he wants to be better remunerated for what he offers to the side. As we know with the Chelsea contracts, some of them are very long, but they're more incentivised in terms of performance or if Chelsea go on and win things. I think he wants a higher base salary.
That's our understanding. But when the deadline eventually passed on Friday with no £120m bid from Man City, Chelsea sources said they expected Fernandez to stay until the end of the season. But that's no clear guarantee.
They don't want the start of the season, the start of this new era dominated by conversations and questions for Xabi Alonso to answer every press conference. But one thing I will say, if Enzo Fernandez does stay he will be a massive part of Alonso's plans. David Richardson: The big question around Xabi Alonso at Chelsea is whether he would replicate the 3-4-3 formation that he had such great success with at Bayer Leverkusen.
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