LONDON — Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso hopes everyone at Stamford Bridge can now “move forward” following the protracted sale of Enzo Fernandez to Manchester City.
The Argentina midfielder left Stamford Bridge to join City in a British record-equalling £125 million ($169 million) deal ahead of the window closing on Tuesday.
Chelsea had hoped to offset Fernandez’s exit by bringing in midfielder Lamine Camara from Monaco, but that move collapsed when the Ligue 1 side backed out having not signed a deal sheet before the window closed.
Alonso, though, insists his focus is on the future, starting with Sunday’s trip across London to Premier League champions Arsenal, when Chelsea will be bidding to maintain their 100 percent start to the new campaign.
“We take all the decisions together,” Alonso told a pre-match press conference. “We are responsible for them with our work together, the big ones, small ones.
“We knew ultimately the last goal is to have the best for the team, for the squad, for daily work here. We want to build a good spirit and a good team, and we have always taken the decisions thinking that we wanted to reach that.”
Alonso added: “In football many things happen, and you need to be prepared for everything.
“With Enzo, we have had conversations, but always with respect as well.
“What he has done for the club, it has been great, and we are thankful, but now it is time to move forward. We have a lot of big personalities, players with a lot of quality in all the different positions and now we are ready to go,” Alonso said according to AFP.
Alonso also refused to go into fresh detail about the collapse of the deal for Camara.
“I think that we are prepared and happy with the squad, the depth, with the healthy competition we have in different positions,” he said. “It is a good balance between players of different stages (of their career).
“We need to build that energy during the week to perform well at the weekends. So far, it is just two games, but it has been a good start and now we know who is in the building and that is good to have that certainty.”
Chelsea’s squad has undergone major change over the summer.
“We can be very happy with the whole transfer window,” said Alonso, who will make a late check over midfielder Moises Caicedo, who went off during the closing stages against Brighton.
“What we started talking about in late May-early June, many things we have accomplished.”
