{"id":390,"date":"2026-08-04T19:17:53","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T19:17:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/footballars.xyz\/?p=390"},"modified":"2026-08-04T19:17:53","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T19:17:53","slug":"xabi-alonso-may-have-given-away-that-16-year-old-will-start-for-chelsea-vs-juventus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/footballars.xyz\/?p=390","title":{"rendered":"Xabi Alonso may have given away that 16-year-old will start for Chelsea vs Juventus"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Xabi Alonso is starting to get to grips with which Chelsea players are going to play a role next season, and looks like he will be handing a pre-season start to one of the youngsters on the tour against Juventus.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alonso<\/a> took a look at plenty of young players against Western Sydney Wanderers. Landon Emenalo<\/a> and Reggie Watson were the standout performers that day.<\/p>\n

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The defeat to Tottenham saw a far stronger look to the XI, with Joao Pedro<\/a>, Cole Palmer<\/a> and Estevao Willian<\/a> starting.<\/p>\n

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What do you make of Asmir Begovic\u2019s Chelsea XI?<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli expected to start for Chelsea vs Juventus<\/h2>\n

With Palmer expected to miss out after training alone<\/a>, there will certainly be some changes to take on Juventus, and Alonso ran a drill with 11 players in a 4-2-3-1 formation in their final training session.<\/p>\n

In this system, as per Bobby Vincent<\/a>, the midfield consisted of Moises Caicedo<\/a> and Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli, a 16-year-old academy star who came off the bench against Spurs.<\/p>\n

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The line-up had Teddy Sharman-Lowe in goal, with a back four of Josh Acheampong<\/a>, Wesley Fofana, Tosin Adarabioyo and Jorrel Hato.<\/p>\n

Ahead of a Caicedo and Nicoll-Jazuli midfield, Estevao and Jamie Gittens<\/a>, with Pedro featuring in the number 10 role with Palmer likely to miss the game.<\/p>\n

It looks like new signing Danny Welbeck is going to get the nod up front, in what would be his first appearance since joining the club this summer.<\/p>\n

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Which Chelsea players impressed you against Tottenham? Who needs to improve before the Fulham game?<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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Nicoll-Jazuli has plenty of admirers at Chelsea<\/h2>\n

Despite being just 16, there is plenty of praise amongst the Chelsea stars for Nicoll-Jazuli and what the future could look like for him at Stamford Bridge<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Palmer has tipped Nicoll-Jazuli to make it with the first team<\/a> as soon as this season, after impressing greatly with the academy sides.<\/p>\n

Alonso singled out the youngster for praise<\/a> in the early days of his tenure, and the fact that he remains one of the only youngsters with the first team squad is a massive sign of how he is perceived.<\/p>\n

A start alongside Caicedo would give him the best possible platform to succeed too, with the Ecuadorian looking to get up to speed ahead of the new season.<\/p>\n

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