Former Chelsea captain and legend of the club Cesar Azpilicueta has spoken about the Blues' hopes under new manager Xabi Alonso.
The ex-Spain international shared the pitch with Alonso on three occasions, so he knows a thing or two about what it's like to share a dressing room with the Chelsea boss.
Cesar Azpilicueta firmly behind Xabi Alonso
Alonso took charge following BlueCo's decision to sack Liam Rosenior after just a few months in charge.
The club's biggest decision came in the form of allowing Alonso greater influence in the side's transfer activity with the Spaniard making full use of his power having spent hundreds of millions of pounds in the summer.
Azpilicueta is confident the Blues won't regret it, though.
“There are some very strong teams around and football sometimes needs a bit of time. You need connections, people playing together and understanding each other," the ex-Chelsea skipper told BBC Sport.
”I have confidence that [manager] Xabi [Alonso], the staff and the players will do good work. Hopefully they can bring a lot of happiness to the fans.
”I will come back one day. I won’t be putting on my boots, though.”
Azpilicueta made 508 apperanances for Chelsea, winning nine major trophies, including the 2021 UEFA Champions League.
Bournemouth test incoming but injury problems mount
Alonso and the Blues are preparing to host Bournemouth on Saturday afternoon as the Premier League returns after a three week international break.
Following a disappointing 3-0 defeat to Brentford before the break, Alonso knows his side must put in a much better performance.
The 44-year-old is balancing a fair few injury problems, though. Joao Pedro and Cole Palmer both missed out on their international duty; for Brazil and England, respectively, due to injury.
Although there is hope Palmer may be fit enough to feature against the Cherries on the weekend, Pedro is unlikely to return until the end of the month.
Alonso will be confident he has plenty of attacking firepower at his disposal, including £117 million summer signing Morgan Rogers, who scored for the Three Lions against Croatia.
Despite playing at Stamford Bridge, the Blues cannot afford to take anything for granted with Marco Rose's men capable of pulling off an upset against just about anyone on their day.
“I left Chelsea, but Chelsea will always stay in my heart. I follow every game and I hope the club comes back to where it belongs,” Azpi said.
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