Xabi Alonso has said that some Chelsea players may have played their 'last' game in the pre-season friendly against Real Sociedad. The Spanish side visited Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon as Chelsea finished their season preparations.
Chelsea beat Real Sociedad 3-1
The Blues came out as 3-1 winners thanks to goals from Morgan Rogers and Joao Pedro (x2). The team are next back in action on Monday as they make the short journey to Craven Cottage to take on Fulham.
A lot of eyes at Stamford Bridge were on Enzo Fernandez. The midfielder made his first appearance of pre-season after an extended break due to the World Cup, but was booed by sections of the home crowd as he came on as a second-half substitute.
Alonso's transfer hint
After the match, Alonso delivered his verdict of the game to club channels, where he dropped a transfer suggestion regarding some players who featured in the contest. "It was a very good last preparation game," he said. "For some players it was the first one and the last one. For us, there were some good things, some things we can improve."
"It's normal at this moment for some players. It was great to have all the team together. Some of them after three days could play for 60 minutes. It was the last test. Now we have a whole week to prepare for Fulham, but it was a good feeling in the stadium."
Speculation over player futures
Exactly who Alonso was referring to when mentioning the last game remains to be seen. Young defender Josh Acheampong came off the bench in the second half, with talkSPORT reporting that there is Premier League interest in the 20-year-old.
Winger Pedro Neto has also been the subject of transfer speculation in the closing weeks of the window. football.london reports that there is widespread Premier League interest in the 26-year-old, who featured in the starting line-up against Real Sociedad, with talk of a potential switch to Saudi Arabia also circulating.
