In the eyes of many Chelsea fans, Xabi Alonso is the best option available right now as the club look to bring in a permanent manager this summer to replace Liam Rosenior. It is easy to see why. The Spaniard won the Bundesliga title with Bayer Leverkusen.
Back then, it was suggested in the media that BlueCo were trying to build an Alonso-type project. Yes, the Spaniard’s team was supposedly the blueprint that the ownership was keen to replicate.
So, now that Alonso is available, it would make sense for them to make a push to bring him to Chelsea, right? Well, it does not seem to be the case, unfortunately.
According to a report from Nizaar Kinsella on BBC Sport, while discussion Alonso and Chelsea, the journalist wrote:
Alonso would be a popular choice among supporters, despite his status as a Liverpool legend, but it is not an option I have any knowledge of at this stage.
Alonso could be perfect for this Chelsea team
Alonso could actually be perfect for this Chelsea squad. He took over a Bayer Leverkusen side that had looked like relegation contenders and quickly turned them into champions. In fact, they did so without losing a single game and had 18 points more than Bayern Munich. It has to go down as one of the greatest campaigns in German football history, if not the very best.
So, Alonso has already shown what he can do with a young squad when given the chance to build. Of course, many will point towards his failed Real Madrid spell, but that was not terrible by any means.
Alonso won more than 70 percent of the games he coached Real Madrid. And since his departure, things have gotten much worse for Los Blancos. There is a very real possibility for his relationship with some of his top stars rather than the results.
It is pretty easy to see why so many continue to regard him as one of the best coaches in the game. If Chelsea can land his signature, it would be a major coup for the club.
Why Chelsea might not be able to attract Alonso
The structure that BlueCo have in place might not be the best when it comes to the club’s chances of achieving long-term success. There have been suggestions that they are ready to make some tweaks to it, but a complete overhaul is not expected.
On the other hand, Alonso is likely to be extra careful when it comes to selecting his next post. He will know that another failure now would hurt his reputation, something he largely avoided despite getting sacked by Real Madrid.
At this point in time, it feels unlikely that Alonso would pick a risky project like the Chelsea one. At the very least, it would take a lot of convincing from BlueCo and they would probably have to give up a lot of control when it comes to first-team matters.
