Chelsea XI vs Real Sociedad: Rogers debut, Lacroix starts

Morgan Rogers is handed a Chelsea debut today as pre-season preparations conclude against Real Sociedad. Maxence Lacroix is also named in the starting lineup, with Valentin Barco and Pep Chavarria on the bench, but there is no place in the matchday squad for John Henderson.

Alonso faces former club

New manager Xabi Alonso takes charge of his first game at Stamford Bridge against his former club. Alonso came through the ranks at the Basque club as a player before taking his first steps into management by coaching their B team in 2019.

He will now be tasked with getting the better of his boyhood side as he looks to end an arduous pre-season schedule on a high. Results are certainly not everything at this stage of the summer, but after some mixed performances on Chelsea’s tour of Australia and Asia, Alonso will be hoping for a morale-boosting victory ahead of the start of the new Premier League campaign.

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Full squad available

The Blues are back to a full complement of players ahead of the weekend, with their remaining post-World Cup absentees all returning to Cobham over the last few days. That includes wantaway midfielder Enzo Fernandez, who has been linked with a move away from Chelsea all summer.

Keen to avoid any distractions heading into the season, Chelsea have been firm about their stance on Fernandez’s future, setting a deadline of 5pm BST on Friday to receive any bids amid interest from Manchester City and Real Madrid. Chelsea had placed a £120million valuation on the Argentine and will not entertain any offers now that the deadline has passed.

Transfer decisions loom

Chelsea’s squad is in desperate need of trimming down before the close of the transfer window, so some of Alonso’s decisions might be key here as Liam Delap, who is valued at £50m by Chelsea, Nicolas Jackson and Marc Guiu are all left out. All three strikers could still leave the club this summer, with Alonso yet to decide who will provide back up to first-choice forward Joao Pedro, alongside Danny Welbeck.

The same goes in defence, where as many as five centre-backs could depart before the window closes in two weeks’ time. As Standard Sport reported this week, Tosin Adarabioyo is attracting interest from several Premier League clubs as well as Portuguese giants Benfica. Axel Disasi and Benoit Badiashile, meanwhile, have long been considered surplus to requirements, with the club actively looking to negotiate their exits.

Chelsea could yet keep Mamadou Sarr with the first team, though they are known to be keen on loaning him out to a Premier League club if the opportunity arises. Aaron Anselmino was also expected to leave on loan, but he now looks set to stay after suffering a hamstring injury during the final game of the pre-season tour against Johor Darul Ta'zim.