Before Xabi Alonso’s arrival, Chelsea had become obsessed with signing young players under BlueCo’s leadership, and many felt it was impacting results. The Blues consistently had one of the youngest squads in the Premier League, with dozens of exciting prospects arriving and almost every experienced player leaving.

Many believed this was a key reason for Chelsea’s inconsistency under Mauricio Pochettino, Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior. At the same time, several incidents, such as players arguing over penalties and getting booked for dissent, pointed to alarming immaturity. Alonso began to address this by taking a firm stance on signing older players in the summer transfer window, but the statistics suggest Chelsea still need to do more before the squad is complete.

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The statistic that reveals Chelsea’s remaining squad issue

Chelsea made a conscious effort to build a better-rounded squad this summer. They signed three experienced players (Jordan Henderson, Danny Welbeck and Emiliano Martinez), alongside three players in their prime: Morgan Rogers, Maxence Lacroix and Pep Chavarria.

The Blues’ squad now looks far more balanced and is starting to take shape under Xabi Alonso. Some have even suggested they could challenge for the Premier League title now that they are no longer a team full of young players lacking leadership and experience.

Gradient Sports has constructed a graph illustrating Chelsea’s squad balance. Each player was placed into one of four age categories: youth, peak, experienced and veteran. As the graph shows, players in the peak category have played over half of Chelsea’s minutes, suggesting they should be performing at their best. In addition, a significant proportion still comes from players in the youth category.

The West London club also have some representation in the veteran category through Henderson and Welbeck, while Martinez sits on the cusp after turning 34 in September. This brings Chelsea’s minutes-weighted average age to 25.37, the sixth-lowest in the Premier League this season.

However, the graph clearly highlights one remaining weakness in Chelsea’s squad: they have no players aged 29 to 33. This is unusual for a professional football team at any level, let alone in the Premier League, where experience can be invaluable.

For context, David Raya, Mikel Merino, Bruno Fernandes and Ruben Dias all fall into this age bracket at other major clubs. Players in this range can bridge the physical prime of their mid-20s with the experience and tactical maturity players often develop in their 30s.

Therefore, while Alonso deserves credit for raising the average age of Chelsea’s squad and creating a more balanced team capable of challenging for silverware, there is still room for improvement. The Blues’ sporting directors should sign one or two players aged 29 to 33 to strengthen an already well-assembled squad.