Going into the summer transfer window, it looks like a lot of stock is put into the fact that Xabi Alonso is the manager of Chelsea. In the past, this side of things has always been the focus of the recruitment team, and the head coaches have been there to do just that, coach. But it looks like BlueCo have made some changes in that department.
They have not made it a secret either. It has been mentioned time and again that Alonso is the manager, not the head coach, of this team.
That seems to be on purpose. It is almost a public acknowledgment for the fans that BlueCo have taken a step back when it comes to the recruitment side of things.
That is what a lot of fans have wanted from the beginning. And one would hope that Alonso has some genuine say on transfer matters moving forward.
What kind of players could Xabi Alonso sign for Chelsea?
Well, in order to understand that, we might need to have a look at his time with Bayer Leverkusen. That is probably where he had more say that he did at Real Madrid.
Now, there has been all this talk about Chelsea going out and signing proven players. ‘Mentality monsters’ is a term that has been used time and again as well.
Two examples of such signings at Bayer Leverkusen might be Granit Xhaka and Alejandro Grimaldo. Both of them are players who were believed to have limitations to their games but they turned the German club into the first ever invincible Bundesliga champions.
Bayer Leverkusen triple signing that should give the fans hope
According to football.london, Dr. Constantin Eckner, a football journalist who specialises in Bayer Leverkusen, said:
“The sporting director made the final decisions, as is the case with most Bundesliga sides, but Alonso had input. Especially in the months after his arrival until the summer transfer window, Alonso tried to make it clear towards Leverkusen’s hierarchy that he wanted players with a winning mentality.
“That led to the signing of Granit Xhaka and others. Alonso was also able to convince some players, e.g. Nathan Tella and Alejandro Grimaldo, of signing with Leverkusen. His reputation as a former world-class midfielder certainly helped.”
It remains to be seen if Alonso ends up making similar signings for Chelsea. Of course, with the Blues’ ambitions higher and budget bigger, he might have a bigger pool of talent to draw from.
Incidentally, both Xhaka and Grimaldo might be available for transfer this summer. It remains to be seen if Alonso tries to reunite with two of his favourites from his time in Germany.
It is also very possible that he might look towards other transfer targets. At the end of the day, it should be ensured that he gets the type of team that he wants. Otherwise, it won’t matter much that he is the ‘manager’ and not the ‘head coach’.
