Photo: Ank kumar / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Jorrel Hato says he has no regrets about his first season at Chelsea and is confident the club can challenge for trophies under new manager Xabi Alonso. The Dutch defender joined from Ajax in the summer of 2025 and featured regularly in the second half of last season after a slow start.
"I've really enjoyed my time at Chelsea," Hato said on the club's pre-season tour in Hong Kong. "Even though I wasn't playing too much at the start, I never regretted it. I knew that I'd made a good decision to transfer to Chelsea."
"Under Xabi I think we have a great manager and we have a great opportunity to push for trophies," Hato added. "It's very early to say that, of course, but I have the faith and the confidence in this team that we could do something special this season."
Hato has been deployed at left-back and left-sided centre-back during Chelsea's pre-season fixtures. Alonso's first match in charge ended in a 6-4 win over Western Sydney Wanderers, with the tour moving from Australia to Hong Kong ahead of a Wednesday fixture against Juventus.
The 21-year-old believes his positional versatility makes him a useful option for Alonso, who has shown tactical flexibility throughout his managerial career. Hato has played centre-back, left-back, wing-back and inverted into midfield during his time at Stamford Bridge.
"We know the manager is very flexible with his approach, and we are like that as a team," Hato said. "Whether we play with a back four or a three, there are roles for me because I can play as a centre-back or as a left-back. I've also played in midfield and I do like to invert and get involved with the play, so I think I can offer the manager a good option."
Hato represented the Netherlands at the World Cup this summer. He wore the No.21 shirt for Chelsea last season.