Xabi Alonso is Chelsea’s number one target to be appointed as their new manager and has now agreed a four-year deal.
The job awaiting the former Liverpool midfielder at Stamford Bridge is daunting. Chelsea, currently ninth in the Premier League, could miss out on European qualification altogether due to the absence of Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior.
£105m midfielder Enzo Fernandes has thrown uncertainty over his future after threatening a move to Real Madrid. Cole Palmer has hit rock bottom and there is speculation that he wants to leave.
Chelsea was also not the easiest place for a manager to work. Mr. Maresca was at odds with his superiors, particularly over his lack of control, and Mr. Rosenior lasted only three months before being fired.
Former Real Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen manager Alonso, whose appointment will be announced on Sunday, will become the Blue Company’s sixth permanent manager since completing their takeover of Chelsea in May 2022.
Alonso’s in-tray will be stacked high when he starts work on July 1st. Here, Sky Sports News chief correspondent Kaveh Solhekol breaks down the most pressing issues facing Chelsea’s next manager and reveals details on how he is expected to fit into Bruco’s organization.
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Sky Sports’ James Cole reports from Wembley that Manchester City defeated Chelsea in the FA Cup final.
Why did Chelsea choose Alonso?
Chelsea have shortlisted around five names, including Marco Silva and Andoni Iraola, and have spoken to all candidates.
They feel that of all the candidates they spoke to, Xabi Alonso is the standout candidate. He is the one they want to lead them into the future. They looked at his resume as a player and as a manager.
As a player, he won with Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. Of course, he won the Euros and the World Cup with Spain and was one of the best players of his generation.
Although he has no Premier League experience as a manager, he had a great season with Bayer Leverkusen, winning the double and being unbeatable. He then moved to Real Madrid, but things did not go well for him, although he won 24 of the 34 games he played in charge. His win rate was around 70%, which was a pretty good number.
On paper, you would have to say he would have been an outstanding candidate, apart from the fact that he has never managed in the Premier League.
How much control can he have?
Alonso is not completely in control. However, he will be Chelsea’s manager, not the head coach. This is in recognition of his experience and achievements and the important role he plays in the development of all aspects of the club.
He will have more say than, say, someone like Liam Rosenior or perhaps Enzo Maresca.
Let’s not forget that Maresca did a pretty good job in the first full season, but then things started to deteriorate behind the scenes.
Manchester City have contacted him regarding the possibility of taking over from Josep Guardiola should he decide to leave City. That derailed their relationship, but I think Maresca was unhappy behind the scenes. He wanted more control, the kind of control that managers traditionally had, but he can’t have it anymore.
Will the transfer strategy change with Alonso’s appointment?
Anyway, things were about to change. Chelsea realized they needed to tweak their transfer strategy. They realize they need a little more experience. They hope to sign three or four immediate first-team players, including a centre-back, in the summer window.
They understand the benefit of having an experienced player with the recent return of Levi Colwill after recovering from an ACL injury.
Chelsea need more players like Colwill with leadership qualities, personality and the character to sort things out when things go wrong on the pitch.
Alonso will be involved in player buying and selling this summer. He’ll have a big say in who Chelsea sign, but they’re not just going to say, ‘Xavi, you’re in charge now.’ You are in charge of buying and selling players. You can do what you want. ‘He must fit into the existing structure of the club.
Chelsea’s current football coaching structure will remain in place. None of the athletic directors are retiring. They were all involved in Alonso’s appointment.
What are the key issues to address this summer?
Speculation swirls about the futures of Cole Palmer and Enzo Fernandez this season
But he needs to sort out what happens to Enzo Fernandes. Is he going to Real Madrid? Will Real Madrid make an offer for him? What will happen to Cole Palmer in the long run? Does Palmer want to go to Manchester United? Would Manchester United want to sign him?
I think he needs to sit down and talk to some of these players. There are also rumors about João Pedro potentially leaving for Barcelona. He’s not for sale, but we need to have these conversations.
Alonso needs to be seriously involved in the transfer window. He needs to have more say than previous Chelsea head coaches.
He also needs to manage relationships with those above him, the sporting director and the owners. He has to always have the team on his side, always be a university man, be happy with the way Chelsea are doing things and accept the fact that he is not Sir Alex Ferguson or Arsene Wenger.
How will Alonso’s style work at Chelsea?
There has been a lot of talk about the fact that he prefers to play as a back three or as a wing-back. Interestingly, this is how Chelsea played in Saturday’s FA Cup final.
The jury is now out on whether anyone can play that system. They also have wing-backs like Maro Gusto and Marc Cucurella, who are very good in their roles. But do they have other players who can fill that role? There are definitely a lot of center backs. Therefore, I don’t think there will be any problem in choosing three centre-backs.
However, Chelsea will not insist on playing with a back three. He used that formation at Bayer Leverkusen because it suited the players in the team. He is very happy playing in a back four and Chelsea will likely play in a different formation under him.
It will be interesting to see how they play, as there have been questions within the Real Madrid locker room about how Alonso wants Real to play and what role he wants certain players to play within the team. Some players were not satisfied with what was being asked of them.
But I think he will be a difficult taskmaster. I also think that when he walks into the Chelsea dressing room he will immediately be respected by the players. And there are some big characters in the Chelsea dressing room. There’s a World Cup winner in that Chelsea dressing room.
Chelsea’s owner feels that is exactly what the dressing room needs. A player who can come in right away and command the respect of the Chelsea players.
What awaits Alonso behind the scenes?
Chelsea have some really, really good players. They have world class players. I don’t think Chelsea’s situation is as bad as people say.
What they lack is a suitable manager, one who fits into the structure of the club. We’ve had great managers like Thomas Tuchel, Mauricio Pochettino and Enzo Maresca, who won two trophies in his first year and took Chelsea back to the Champions League, but behind the scenes there was unrest.
Disharmony arose. People have fallen out with each other. Alonso will now have to negotiate all of that as well.
It’s not just about developing players. It’s also how you deal with the media, how you get along with the sporting director, how you get along with the owners, how you win over the fans, and how you get along with them.
Chelsea fans are demanding and have genuine concerns about the way the club is run. Owners are listening to your concerns. We have seen demonstrations at games.
So just because Chelsea have a new manager and he’s a big name doesn’t mean all of the club’s problems have been solved.
There is a possibility that he will not be in Europe next season, giving Xabi Alonso more time to work with his players and perhaps allowing him to focus solely on the domestic game, following in Michael Carrick’s footsteps at United.
Was Liverpool also in the picture?
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Arne Slott says he has every reason to believe he will be Liverpool manager next season.
I don’t think Liverpool thought about Alonso at all. They decided to stick with Arne Slot. He told a press conference on Thursday that he had every reason to believe he would remain Liverpool’s head coach next season.
If you have read or heard what Xabi Alonso has said in the past, you would think that he would like to be the manager of Liverpool in the future.
If he were planning his ideal career path, it would involve one day becoming Liverpool manager. However, he is currently not available for the job at Liverpool and Liverpool are not making any moves to sign him. They’ve known for a while that he’s available.
Perhaps if they had decided they wanted to change direction, they could have contacted him and made a formal approach, but that didn’t happen.
I know a lot of Liverpool fans want him back, but he can’t pick up the phone and beg him to come to Liverpool. He can only accept the job he is given and knows that Chelsea really want him. That’s why he agreed to become Chelsea manager.
