Alonso's Back-Three Fix at Chelsea: Fernandez Saga Looms Large Over Opener

Let's be real. Sky Sports dug into Chelsea's summer 'overhaul' and found a manager scrambling. Alonso's first weeks? A tactical mess. Three pre-season matches, back-four disaster. Felt a lot like his Real Madrid days. So, he chucked it. Switched to the 3-4-3. The one that worked wonders at Bayer Leverkusen. What a surprise. Suddenly, they looked like a football team. Against Real Sociedad, the early back-three still had them sitting too deep, sloppy. Typical. But then, a second-half jolt. Positional shift. Higher up the pitch. Pressing. Tempo. It clicked. Finally. Up front, Morgan Rogers, the £117m man, João Félix, and Cole Palmer. Not wingers. Inside forwards. A tactical tweak that 'suits their playmaking qualities,' we're told. Pre-season hint? An attacking unit that, according to Sky Sports' David Richardson, might actually challenge the big boys. We'll see. Now for the real drama: Enzo Fernandez. Still a headache. Six-year contract? Check. No £120m Man City bid by Friday's deadline? Also check. Doesn't matter. Word on the street is he wants a fatter contract. Higher base salary. None of Chelsea's usual performance-weighted bonuses for him. Alonso? He dodged it early on. 'Great player,' he mumbled. That old line. Chelsea *expect* him to stay for the season. Right. As if that settles anything. Uncertainty? Try chaos. This club's big plan is to keep new-era noise out of Alonso's press conferences. Good luck with that one.