Xabi Alonso has said he is sure Morgan Rogers will have an “almost instant impact” at Chelsea after his record move from Aston Villa.
Rogers recently signed for £117 million ($156m) after playing a significant role in England’s World Cup campaign.
Chelsea are currently in Sydney as part of a preseason tour of Australia and Asia, but Rogers will not report for duty until the club is back in London next month, just a few weeks before the start of the Premier League season.
Alonso, ahead of his first campaign in charge at Stamford Bridge, said that he is “delighted” to have secured the services of Rogers, who had also attracted interest from Arsenal.
“It’s a great signing,” he told a news conference in Australia. “I think that in that position we needed an important player. I’m sure that there are not many better options than Morgan.
“We want to build a competitive team, for sure. We are in that process, we have great quality, great talent and we need to know what it takes to compete in the Premier League.
“When we started talking we wanted to build a competitive squad and you need players that can have almost instant impact. I’m sure that Morgan won’t need much time or adaptations to the club, the system, the teammates. That was the idea that we wanted, to get a top player and Morgan is one of them.
“One of his [Rogers’] best qualities is that he’s flexible. In that pocket position close to the striker, the 10, he’s played as well on the right but more coming from the left.
“He feels that he’s enjoying his game, his flow, I’m sure that he will have good connections with the other players around him. If we can get those connections right, those associations that they look for each other and they connect well, that will be a big step forward in the quality of our game.”
With Rogers having completed his move and Crystal Palace defender Maxence Lacroix reportedly set to follow him through the door, Alonso was asked about his ideal squad size and if Chelsea could look to sell players. In the Spaniard’s first season in charge, the club will have a relatively light workload with no European football on offer this season.
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“Not too long, not to short — what is the number? I can’t give you that number but we need to have options because we know we can be unlucky with injuries so we need to be prepared for that,” he said.
“We need to be aware. We need to know that probably there will be some movements, we need to be flexible, quick to act. But the main thing is we have a clear idea, a clear plan and it will change until the last day the market is open.”
Alonso also said that he has not decided on who will be his first-choice goalkeeper. Robert Sánchez ended last season as the No. 1.
“Everything is open, all the positions. The competition in the squad is positive and I like that.”
