It was always likely that Xabi Alonso would be back in management this summer, although not many predicted Chelsea as his next destination. Indeed, Liverpool was widely seen as the natural next step for a figure so revered on Merseyside his name was sung by Reds supporters at matches towards the end of last season.
Chelsea beat Liverpool to the bunch, hiring Alonso to reshape a team that staggered to a lowly 10th place finish in the Premier League. There were less challenging jobs Alonso could have taken, but Chelsea’s upside is clear and the former Bayer Leverkusen and Real Madrid boss might be the figure to realise it.
12 months ago, Alonso was preparing for his first season at Real Madrid. His brief in that job was similar to the one he has been handed at Stamford Bridge. Alonso wasn’t hired by Los Blancos purely because of the silverware he won in the Bundesliga, but the way he won that silverware.
Alonso tried to give Real Madrid a new identity for the modern game. Ultimately, though, his players and Florentino Pérez lacked the patience for such a project and are no further forward for giving up on Alonso so quickly – see how Real Madrid’s 2025/26 season unravelled on and off the pitch.
This is where Chelsea can learn from what Real Madrid got wrong, and their transfer business so far this summer suggests they are building around Alonso in a way the Spanish giants never did. The Blues are seemingly intent on recycling Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen blueprint.
Two transfers in particular hint at this. First, Morgan Rogers’ club-record transfer from Aston Villa which gives Alonso a second number 10 to deploy alongside Cole Palmer. Rogers, who registered 16 goal contributions in the Premier League last season, has been signed to perform the role Florian Wirtz was so impactful in for Alonso’s Leverkusen.
Second, Marco Palestra’s arrival from Atalanta was surely orchestrated to give Alonso a right-sided option that makes his favoured back three viable. The Italian international has the skill set to perform the role Jeremie Frimpong operated for Bayer Leverkusen when they won the Bundesliga.
Chelsea are also attempting to replicate the age profile of Alonso’s Leverkusen squad. While the former midfielder was integral in developing a number of youngsters including Wirtz and Frimpong, Alonso had a good deal of experience within his dressing room. It was a balanced squad in more than one way.
With this in mind, Chelsea’s targeting of Jordan Henderson and Danny Welbeck makes sense. The former is a former Premier League-winning captain while the latter is still productive at a high level having played no fewer than 15 seasons in the English top division. Henderson and Welbeck’s know-how will be valuable even if there aren’t more years left in their legs.
“I’m sure that from today to the last day of the transfer [window] there will be a lot of links, a lot of rumours, so to be commenting on all of them, it’s going to be a hard task,” said Alonso when asked about recent links to Henderson and Welbeck. “But for sure, we need proper balance in terms of qualities, in terms of positions, in terms of balance. We want to have a complete squad and we want to make a good team.”
Alonso needs even more in the summer transfer window to complete his Chelsea rebuild. The confirmation of Maxence Lacroix‘s signing just last night is once more hinting at the intention to play a back three with wing backs. The French international thrived in a similar system under Oliver Glasner at Crystal Palace.
There is a question mark over the central midfield unit. Will Reece James be used as a right-sided centre back or right wing back? Or will the England international retain his spot in the middle of the pitch next to Moisés Caicedo? Where will Enzo Fernández slot in if Palmer and Rogers are the first-choice attacking midfielders? Could he play as part of the double pivot?
While many have written off Alonso’s failure at Real Madrid on the basis of how the Spanish giants struggled even after he left, the Spanish still has a point to prove as a manager. Can Alonso replicate his Bundesliga success in the Premier League or was his Leverkusen tenure a glorious one-off?
Last season made clear that Chelsea had lost their way as a team and a club. Their recruitment strategy led to a mish-mash of a squad and a series of ill-fated managerial appointments. Alonso won’t be a one-man antidote, but this summer’s activity suggests the Stamford Bridge club might be on the road to recovery.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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