Xabi Alonso backs Morgan Rogers to make an ‘instant impact’ at Chelsea
Xabi Alonso has backed Chelsea’s new record signing Morgan Rogers to make an instant impact at the club and believes he will be ready to do so from the start of the domestic season.
Rogers completed a £117million ($156m) move from Aston Villa last week, but is not involved in the club’s pre-season tour to Australia and South-East Asia after playing for England at the World Cup. The attacker is instead due to report for training at Cobham on August 9, just a couple of weeks before Chelsea’s opening Premier League game at Fulham.
New Chelsea manager Alonso is eager to start working with the 24-year-old and believes he can make a big difference at Stamford Bridge.
“For sure, it’s a great signing,” Alonso told reporters in Sydney where his team will play Western Sydney Wanderers in a friendly on Tuesday. “In that position we needed an important player and I’m sure there were not many better options than Morgan Rogers.
“You need players who can have that almost instant impact and I am sure Morgan won’t need much time to adapt to the club, to the system, to his team-mates. That was the idea that we wanted, to get a top player and Morgan is one of them.
“One of his best qualities is that he is flexible. In that pocket position, close to the striker, close to our No 10, but he’s played as well on the right side, but more coming from the left. He feels he is enjoying his game, his flow, and I am sure he will have good connections with the other players around him.
“If we get those connections right, that will be a great step forward in the quality of our game.”
Xabi Alonso addresses the media in Sydney (David Gray/AFP via Getty Images)
Chelsea are also close to officially announcing the £52m signing of centre-back Maxence Lacroix from Crystal Palace. Terms were agreed before the weekend, with the France international to sign a six-year deal after completing a medical.
Alonso feels the addition of the experienced duo is significant when it comes to the club’s attempts to improve on last season, where they finished a lowly 10th in the Premier League and missed out on European qualification.
He added: “We want to build a competitive team. We are in that process. We have great quality, great talent, and we need to know what it takes to compete in the Premier League. We want a squad with the right balance between quality and mentality. Those things need to match in terms of maturity stage, where you are in your career, the moment that this point is coming for each player, the hunger, the desire, the commitment.”
Alonso has refused to confirm whether Robert Sanchez will start the campaign as his first-choice goalkeeper.
Sanchez is facing new competition for the starting role this year with Belgium international Mike Penders joining the squad having impressed on loan at Strasbourg last term.
Penders has yet to start training as he is also on a post World Cup break. When asked if he has decided who is going to be his No 1 next season, Alonso replied: “All the positions, everything is open. The competition within the squad is positive and I like that.”