Henderson started 22 league games in the 2025/26 season after joining from Ajax and made a further 10 appearances off the bench. In addition to his experience at international level, his performances were recognized and he was called up to the England national team for the World Cup.
The former Liverpool stalwart played six minutes in the Three Lions’ third group stage game against Panama, but was injured during England’s celebrations after the win over Mexico.
Henderson broke his arm when he ran over a billboard and underwent surgery, but remained with the team throughout the tournament.
At the beginning of the summer, Chelsea signed Granit Xhaka, another experienced Premier League midfielder. However, it emerged that Sunderland were unwilling to accept any offer for their captain.
Asked about the move ahead of Chelsea’s pre-season game against Western Sydney Wanderers, Alonso hinted that he was looking forward to more action. However, the Spaniard hinted that the squad could be cut down.
“We need to know that there will probably still be some movement,” he said. “We need to be flexible and move quickly.
“The important thing is that we have a clear idea and a clear plan. That will probably change until the last day the market is open.”
Asked about the size of the team, Alonso replied: “Not too long, not too short, how many? I can’t say that number.”
“But certainly we need options. We know there’s a chance we could be unlucky with an injury, so we need to be prepared for that.
“The situation could be different. We need to manage our time. There are also two cup competitions so we need to fight as hard as we would in the Premier League.”
“Once we get the right balance in terms of quality, personality and maturity, we would like to consider it when we start the first Premier League game in August.”
