Chelsea's midfield remains a problem area as Moisés Caicedo is a doubt for Sunday's trip to Sunderland, with Roméo Lavia's resurgence not enough to cover injuries to key players.
Xabi Alonso played for Pep Guardiola at Bayern Munich and was a key figure for Spain when their midfield dominated international football between 2008 and 2012. He does not need to be educated about the importance of control, but there has been a clear distinction between his identity as a player and how his Chelsea side have played.
Possession and midfield struggles
Chelsea's average possession stands at 47.8% after nine league games. They have made the eighth-most passes in the Premier League and are at their most dangerous on the counterattack. Give them space and they will run riot, but Alonso is yet to see a complete performance and knows they need to improve in midfield.
It is a problem area. Reece James has been out with a knee injury since September and the engine room lacks consistency. Alonso has experimented with different partnerships but is yet to settle on his favoured lineup and will be forced into another change if Chelsea find themselves without Caicedo when they visit Sunderland on Sunday afternoon.
Caicedo injury and potential replacements
The Ecuadorian, who has already had a spell on the sidelines with a calf injury, has not trained fully after feeling discomfort this week. It is a complication for Alonso, who keeps having to deal with injuries to key players. The striker João Pedro is out with a thigh injury, the centre-back Maxence Lacroix is hamstrung and there will have to be further adjustment if Caicedo cannot prove his fitness before Chelsea face the league's bottom side.
Jordan Henderson is the obvious replacement for Caicedo. Chelsea could require the former's experience given Sunderland probably need to turn the game into a battle, although they will also need poise in possession and are likely to get it from Roméo Lavia, whose elegance would make him an ideal fit in Alonso's system if only it could be guaranteed his body was not going to let him down again.
Lavia's resurgence and fitness concerns
We have been here before with Lavia, who has had little luck since joining from Southampton three years ago. The Belgium international barely played during his first season at Chelsea and has had plenty of false dawns since. The potential is not in doubt; the uncertainty is whether Lavia can stay fit.
Chelsea have not given up on the 22-year-old. Lavia has the talent to reach the top, but is he durable enough? He had not completed a full 90 minutes for Chelsea before going the distance during the Carabao Cup shootout defeat at Liverpool 10 days ago. That speaks volumes and is the reason for the caution, even though Lavia managed another 90 minutes when he produced a dominant display next to Caicedo during Chelsea's 2-0 win against Manchester United last weekend.
Alonso needs more. He said Lavia had made changes to his physical preparation this season. "There has been a change," Alonso said, although he did not elaborate. There is no suggestion Lavia has lacked professionalism. He is sensible, driven and smart. The suspicion is that it is more about being efficient from a conditioning perspective. Get that element right and Chelsea will have a top midfielder.
"Every time that the midfield area works, the team works better," Alonso said. "We saw that Rom is in a very good place. I think that for the last month he has been very consistent in his performances, and he has been very important for the team, because in the middle you need to have a brain not just for yourself but a brain for the team."
"He's good with the ball, he's giving balance, he's connecting very well with the players around him, with through balls. We need to push him, to help to continue, that it's not enough, that he can take the next step. It's not rocket science to know once you have good midfielders the team normally looks better."
Transfer plans and future options
Alonso needs that conductor to complement Caicedo's power and ability to put out fires. Chelsea's manager had Granit Xhaka knitting everything together when Bayer Leverkusen won the Bundesliga in 2024. It was not a surprise when Alonso tried to sign the Sunderland midfielder this summer.
"We spoke a lot in that time in Leverkusen with Granit because he was a key part of that team," Alonso said. "He glued many pieces together."
Chelsea are looking for similar cohesion. Alonso is yet to place his trust in Valentín Barco, signed from Strasbourg in the summer. The midfield is incomplete after the £125m sale of Enzo Fernández to Manchester City. A move for Monaco's Lamine Camara broke down on deadline day and Bournemouth refused to sell Alex Scott after receiving inquiries from Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool for the newly capped England midfielder.
The situation will be revisited in January. Chelsea, who also like Crystal Palace's Adam Wharton, are thought to have the edge over Liverpool in the race to sign Scott. They need to give Alonso more options in midfield. Lavia's resurgence is not enough. Injuries elsewhere are disrupting Alonso's plans, preventing him from making Chelsea consistent.
