The centre-backs are at different stages of their Chelsea careers. Colwill has long been part of the set-up at Stamford Bridge after coming through our Academy, while Lacroix joined the Blues from Crystal Palace this summer.

The duo have been tentpoles of Alonso’s defence so far, starting in both of our Premier League fixtures as we opened the campaign with back-to-back wins over Fulham and Brighton & Hove Albion.

Ahead of another tough challenge – an away trip to the Emirates Stadium on Sunday – our manager discussed the strengths of the two centre-backs and Lacroix’s instant adaptation to his new team.

‘We need to have good balance and for sure we know the best qualities of Levi – he's important to our build-up,’ said Alonso.

‘More in this left channel, not so on the wing, when he has different diagonal passes that he's able to see and he's able to find players in the pocket and see the other [right pocket]. But we need to have a good partnership in defence.

‘Maxence is very consistent, he's strong, he's very connected to the game in terms of personality, in terms of awareness, and we have players that want to have that impact. This is very good. Maxence has been here just for three, four weeks, but he's really settled into the team.’

Alonso also discussed how he is shaping his Chelsea side, with there being an emphasis on flexibility and incisiveness to ensure the Blues can overcome every kind of challenge we will face this season.

‘What we want is that we are able to adapt,' he said. 'For sure there will be games that we have a lot of possession and struggle to score against teams that defend in a low block.

‘But to have different tools, to have different ideas how to do it, and to have different approaches, is good.

‘We are in the early days. We have had two games, two wins, but we are aware that we can do better. We want to do better. There are some things that we need to keep doing well, other things that we will improve for sure.’