Alonso and his wife, Nagore Aranburu, are currently searching for a long-term place to live in London. The city’s culture, film and music scenes were a major pull for them, and it suits their family with teenagers.
They stayed in Spain until the day before the first training session. During that spell, Alonso handled transfer matters remotely with Chelsea’s five-person sporting director group, with whom he seems to have quickly established a strong rapport by all accounts.
From Spain, Alonso spoke with Marc Cucurella before his move to Real Madrid, called Enzo Fernandez to discuss what comes next, and contacted several targets — including new full-back Marco Palestra — to outline his vision.
At his first media briefing at Stamford Bridge on Monday, Alonso made clear he wants Fernandez to stay.
He also conducted a fact-finding visit — first reported by BBC Sport — to Cobham in June, ahead of his staff’s official start dates, to meet personnel and work out how they would integrate into the club’s structure.
Last Thursday was a whirlwind: he had the squad in for a full day, settled into his office, handled internal media duties and then led his first training session.
Sessions have featured fitness testing, gym work, small-sided games, finishing exercises and a mix of single and double workouts.
Younger players have joined in — midfielders Reggie Walsh and Landon Emenalo, winger Ryan Kavuma-McQueen and defender Calvin Diakite — bringing a fresh buzz to the group.
New signings Dastan Satpaev — granted special permission by Kairat to train before officially joining on his 18th birthday in August — Emmanuel Emegha and Geovany Quenda have also been involved. Recalled loanees Nicolas Jackson and Aaron Anselmino are being assessed too.
Monday’s bleep test was topped by Walsh, whose physical development has been striking. Cole Palmer finished second after an injury-disrupted season, with teenage forward Estevao Willian in third.
Alonso said Palmer is determined to reach peak fitness after managing a recurring groin issue last year; if he’s happy and in rhythm, he can be a key figure. So far, the signs are positive.
On Estevao, he noted they will manage him carefully. The youngster is feeling better and his talent is clear.
Alonso’s coaching staff is rich in specialists. Ismael Camenforte Lopez, well known in Germany for continuously feeding balls into practice games, helps keep training at a high tempo.
Lopez is expected to be especially influential early on, particularly around conditioning.
Assistant coach Alberto Encinas focuses on technical development, while Sebastian “Sebas” Parrilla serves as Alonso’s chief lieutenant and the most experienced member of the team. Benat Labaien combines coaching with advanced video analysis, using drones and other tools.
Alonso remains very hands-on, often joining drills himself, with former players suggesting he still looks close to being able to contribute on the pitch.
The coming weeks are set: behind-closed-doors friendlies against Crawley Town on Saturday and Bromley next Thursday, before a flight for their overseas pre-season tour the following day.
They start in Sydney versus Western Sydney Wanderers and Tottenham, then travel to Hong Kong to face Juventus, on to Jakarta to meet AC Milan, and finish in Malaysia against Johor Darul Ta’zim.
It’s a demanding itinerary across multiple time zones. However, only eight Chelsea players were at the World Cup — with Palmer and Joao Pedro notable absentees — which has helped planning.
That extra time at Cobham should prove valuable for building fitness, setting standards and laying the groundwork before more detailed tactical work begins on tour.
A clearer view of Alonso’s preferred system should emerge then. He tended to use a back four more often at Real Madrid, while his greatest success at Bayer Leverkusen came with a back five.