Chelsea Confidential Q&A special: Will Cole Palmer and Co be fit for Bournemouth? What chance signing Lamine Camara in January? Is Xabi Alonso under pressure already? And latest on Levi Colwill's new contract revealed

Sitting 10th in the Premier League after a demoralising 3-0 defeat at Brentford, Chelsea supporters were left with plenty to ponder as they headed into this three-week international break.

Which of the injured players will be back next month? Should Xabi Alonso stick with a back three or four? Which midfielder should we be targeting in January?

Here our reporter inside the Blues camp, Kieran Gill, answers your questions on all things Chelsea...

Will Cole Palmer, Joao Pedro, Marco Palestra, Reece James and Moises Caicedo be available for the Bournemouth game?

Let's start with some good news. Barring individual setbacks, it’s hoped these players should be available for the visit of Bournemouth on October 10, Chelsea’s first game back in the Premier League.

It was a minor muscular issue which saw Palmer withdraw from England duty and he is expected to be ready to start for Chelsea once this international break is over.

Cole Palmer has withdrawn from England duty but should be available for Chelsea's first game back after the international break

Joao Pedro's camp, however, are keeping tight-lipped about his situation

Palestra should be back – Chelsea could have risked him against Brentford, per sources, but decided to give him extra time rather than throwing him in for a competitive debut after his quad issues have prevented him from playing this season.

Caicedo skipped Ecuador duty but he had returned to training before the break, with Alonso telling us he was keen not to rush his return after the 24-year-old's last setback with his calf.

James should also be back – his hamstring injury has not been described as anything major and while no timeline has been issued, this break is well-timed.

The one Confidential is slightly iffy on is Joao Pedro as I don’t have enough first-hand information on his knee injury, with neither Chelsea nor his camp shedding much light on his situation. There has been talk of the 24-year-old striker needing three-to-four weeks to recover, per ESPN Brazil.

If so, he should be back along with everyone else, in contention to face Bournemouth.

Alonso and his medical department led by Bryce Cavanagh will need to decide who is fit to be thrown in for an immediate start and who is only ready to be named as a substitute. I’m sure Alonso will be vague in his pre-Bournemouth press conference, not wanting to give his opponents any help.

Chelsea may play the odd practice match between themselves at Cobham before the Bournemouth game, though I haven’t yet heard of any behind-closed-doors friendlies being set up against other clubs.

Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso will not give anything away in his press conferences regarding player fitness

Can the deal for Lamine Camara of Monaco be revived in January or is the relationship between the clubs too broken?

Chelsea haven’t suddenly blacklisted Monaco from what I hear. Refusing to do any business with them whatsoever from now on would be cutting off your nose to spite your face.

Whenever these two clubs next get down to negotiations – for Camara or whoever – I'm sure Chelsea will try for terms that are advantageous towards themselves after what happened on deadline day, when Monaco pulled the plug on his £47million transfer.

As for Camara and this January, it is complicated. Chelsea admired him as a player in the summer, and still admire him today, but Monaco may insist their midfielder is not for sale this winter.

They are top of the table in France’s Ligue 1. They are unbeaten, having won six and drawn one game in all competitions. Camara has been crucial for Monaco and completed seven full 90 minutes in succession – must be nice having a fully-fit midfielder! – and is continuing to impress after being named one of Filipe Luis's vice-captains for 2026-27.

Monaco know waiting until next summer could spark a transfer tussle, with Liverpool among several other clubs tracking Camara. So I suspect revisiting Camara in January would be tricky for Chelsea, who also looked at Roma's Manu Kone in the summer. Like Monaco, Roma are flying, sitting top of Italy's Serie A, and like Camara, Kone has been a consistent starter, albeit regularly substituted.

Chelsea regarding Alex Scott as a top target is no secret, though Bournemouth categorically insisted they would not do a deal in the summer and they may stand by that stance this January, too. Convincing another club to part with one of their better players midway through a campaign can be extremely challenging, and costly.

Bournemouth sold Antoine Semenyo to Manchester City last January but that was via his release clause worth £65m. When Bournemouth eventually warm towards selling Scott, we can expect Chelsea to be at the table.

Lamine Camara (left), who came so close to joining Chelsea in the summer, has been in fine form for Monaco this season

Chelsea admire Alex Scott of Bournemouth but making signings in January is a tricky business

Will Alonso be trying a four at the back soon or does he want to wait to see how they perform when Caicedo and Co return?

Alonso has started matches with a back four. Three times. Against Luton: 4-2-3-1 and a 2-0 win. Against Leeds: 4-3-3 and a 6-3 win. Against Hull: 4-2-3-1 and a 2-2 draw.

But he has relied on a 3-4-2-1 otherwise. I do suspect Alonso and his analysts will be using a chunk of this international break to assess whether they should stick with three at the back.

Having Caicedo back would at least add some solidity into that set-up, so it is probably worth a look.

Do you think the owners will give Alonso time if this season is a failure?

It’s perhaps a little unfair on Alonso for us to start thinking this season will be a failure. He’s seven competitive games into his Chelsea career. He deserves time rather than talk of being at risk, because that isn't the case.

Why are Estevao, Geovany Quenda and Jamie Gittens not getting any minutes?

They are just down the pecking order right now, and Alonso’s 3-4-2-1 leaves limited room for touchline wingers. Estevao has had to get used to being a substitute used in the last 10 minutes, which makes it hard for the 19-year-old Brazilian to find any rhythm.

Quenda at least came on in the 71st minute against Brentford in what was his second substitute appearance of the season in all competitions, and he can be used as a wing back, which helps.

Gittens has been an unused substitute in all five of Chelsea’s Premier League fixtures, and was hooked at half-time in their Carabao Cup clash with Leeds in his one start, so I can't imagine he is too thrilled with how his season has started after Roma’s summer interest in him.

When players like Palestra, Caicedo, James and Joao Pedro return from their injuries, some of these wingers may be pushed out of the matchday squad altogether.

Estevao has struggled for minutes so far this season, mainly being used as a late substitute

Whereas Jamie Gittens has not got off the bench at all in the league and was hooked at half-time in the Carabao Cup match he started

Do you see Robert Sanchez coming back next season?

Can’t see it. I mean, technically he might, because he’s on loan at Como without a locked-in obligation, but the aim is to sell him permanently next summer.

Chelsea brought in Emiliano Martinez on a three-year contract – two years plus the option of a third – and have high hopes for 21-year-old Mike Penders.

What’s happening with Alejandro Garnacho?

First, what we know.

Garnacho is on a season-long loan at Aston Villa with a conditional obligation. If Villa were to sign him permanently, Chelsea would make what sources have described as a ‘small, small, small profit’ on the £40m they paid Manchester United for him in 2025.

Garnacho has not started a single game for Villa, and has been an unused substitute in their last four fixtures. Which is not ideal.

What we do not know is how many appearances it would take for his loan to become permanent as per the clause. Chelsea sources described it as easily achievable when the temporary transfer went through.

They were wary of what happened with Harvey Elliott at Villa last season. So you have to hope they negotiated a lower total than Elliott’s 10 league appearances in that case. Still, when you ask, neither Villa nor Chelsea will disclose the details of Garnacho's deal.

Right now, Garnacho is not playing, at all. Both Villa and Chelsea would need to agree to terminate his loan in January due to no exit clause existing. That would not be beneficial to Chelsea if they did not have somewhere else to send him. Spanish clubs are continuing to monitor Garnacho.

Alejandro Garnacho is on a season-long loan at Aston Villa with a conditional obligation - but is not getting any game-time

Any news on new contracts? What’s Levi Colwill's fitness levels?

Two for one here. I have heard Colwill has held talks. However, as of last week when I spoke to a source about his situation, a new deal has not yet been agreed. Besides, announcing an extension for a defender would be tricky when the team have been conceding for fun of late.

Colwill’s fitness levels are said to be fairly good now – good enough to go into this international break following back-to-back full 90s – though we knew it would take him time to overcome his ACL horror injury which effectively saw his 2025-26 season written off.

Speaking of Colwill, I have some quotes from him as the Chelsea Foundation is extending its Wrap Up Warm grants for a further year, providing a combined £75,000 of unrestricted funding to three local charities supporting people experiencing homelessness. That will go to the Barons Court Project, Vineyard Community and York Road Project.

Levi Colwill has been in talks with the club about a contract extension, though a deal is yet to be agreed

Colwill said: ‘Homelessness is something I’ve always felt really passionate about, so it’s brilliant that Chelsea Foundation is supporting such important work in our local communities.

'I’ve been lucky enough to see the work of Barons Court Project first-hand and understand the difference organisations like this can make to people’s lives.

'It’s fantastic that the Foundation is extending its support to Barons Court Project, Vineyard Community and York Road Project, and I’m sure these partnerships will have a significant impact within our community.’