The Blues will be without Reece James for today’s Premier League fixture at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, with our captain recovering from successful minor knee surgery. Yet Alonso has reiterated that we remain well stocked in midfield.

That was demonstrated by the instant understanding between Caicedo and Henderson in our last game, an emphatic 5-1 victory over Bournemouth, which was the latter's home debut.

The Blues manager believes those two players complement each other’s strengths well as a midfield pairing, even while pointing out that different situations call for different solutions in that area of the pitch.

‘It was only one game, but I think that Moi helps Hendo and Hendo helps Moi,’ said Alonso. ‘In terms of personalities, they match well, Moi and Hendo.

‘As well, Hendo has this energy to go; he's very active. He covers a lot of pitch and finds the balance with Moi, who’s more in the position and has this stability to have good distances with everything. It was a good start and we need to keep building from that.

‘But we need not just two midfielders; we need more than that. Sometimes we will need a third midfielder as well. It's not that we always play with just two midfielders.

‘There will be games or moments that we will need a third midfielder as well, to have a different approach or different analysis of the game. So we can't just rely on two midfielders. We need more than that.’

There is no concern from Alonso over that fact. Having been impressed with the performances of Lavia and Barco so far this season, our manager is confident in the other options at his disposal.

‘I've said good things about Rom because he's in a good moment,’ Xabi continued. ‘As well, Valentin against Brentford, even if the game didn't go right, it was his first [Premier League] start and he was very competitive.

‘In the minutes Valentin has played with us, also in the cup, he has been very competitive. He doesn't care who the opponent is – he goes, he goes, he goes. That's a little bit of this warrior fighting spirit that he brings to the team. It is very positive as well.

‘Obviously, it's been difficult for Rom - the record he had, he was not available for a few periods - but until now he's done really well since I’ve been here. He's been available. He's played a lot of games. So it's very good for him, especially that he's been able to be training regularly, playing regularly, playing 90 minutes.

‘So it's been great and he's in a very good momentum, and we need him with the other midfielders because that area is fundamental for our game.’

Of course, few people are as well placed to judge what it takes to succeed as a Premier League midfielder as Alonso, who achieved legendary status in that position during his own playing career with Real Sociedad, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Spain.

With that in mind, he explained what is key for whoever gets the nod in the Chelsea midfield, and why those roles are vital to the team as a whole.

‘The midfielders, they need to take, for me, in a game many, many, many decisions. Small ones that they look meaningless, but they are very significant.

‘So that means that they are always thinking one step ahead of the game, and I think that Moi, Hendo, Rom, Barco, we are working for that. And when that works, normally the team works better.

‘We did really well the other day with Hendo and with Moi, and that they choose the right decision, because normally when they do things well, they help the team around, because they are in the middle of everything.

'You need to be enjoying that responsibility that you have there in the middle.’