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Alonso gets Chelsea’s priorities right by ditchingSánchez for winner Martínez | Jacob Steinberg

Signing of World Cup winner adds to sense that this is the summer when BlueCo got serious in transfer market

This story summarizes reporting from The Guardian. Read the original for full context. Wire items stay in our news sitemap for seven days. Editorial policy.

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Jacob Steinberg29 Aug 2026, 11:00 amUpdated 2d ago1 min readSportsGlobal

Global — Jacob Steinberg

Alonso gets Chelsea’s priorities right by ditching Sánchez for winner Martínez | Jacob Steinberg

Signing of World Cup winner adds to sense that this is the summer when BlueCo got serious in transfer market

Carlo Cudicini was a very good goalkeeper. However, José Mourinho was ruthless when he became Chelsea manager in 2004. Very good was not good enough. Mourinho wanted the best and one of the main factors behind the Portuguese winning the Premier League during his first season in charge was the decision to replace Cudicini with Petr Cech.

There is an old line about a great goalkeeper being worth 15 points a season. It is not for nothing, for instance, that Brian Clough regarded Peter Shilton as one of his most important signings at Nottingham Forest. Shilton was key when Forest defied the odds by winning the Division One title in 1978 and there are plenty of other examples of promising teams taking the next step only after buying a top No 1.

Carlo Cudicini was a very good goalkeeper. However, José Mourinho was ruthless when he became Chelsea manager in 2004. Very good was not good enough. Mourinho wanted the best and one of the main factors behind the Portuguese winning the Premier League during his first season in charge was the decision to replace Cudicini with Petr Cech.

This report is published with credit to The Guardian. Full available text from the wire is above. Read on The Guardian →

Source: The Guardian · Jacob Steinberg. Published 29 Aug 2026, 11:00 am.

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