Xabi Alonso ‘open to’ possibility with Chelsea ‘exploring’ deal — report
How open are we talking?
Xabi Alonso head coach of Real Madrid reacts during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD6 match between Real Madrid C. F. and Manchester City at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on December 10, 2025 in Madrid, Spain.
(Photo by Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images) | NurPhoto via Getty Images Chelsea’s job search for our latest manager head coach has featured a series of rather underwhelming candidates so far, with the likes of Andoni Iraola and Marco Silva leading the way. Though it would not be surprising if we could not attract candidates of a higher caliber, ideally we’d be aiming slightly above midtable excellence. And perhaps there is some hope of that latter possibility at this early stage of the search, with The Athletic ’s David Ornstein reporting today that we are not only “exploring a deal” to go after Xabi Alonso, but that Alonso himself would be “open to the possibility”.
Obviously, “nothing is decided” at this stage, but this is the strongest report we’ve seen yet of us at least trying to go for the former Bayer Leverkusen and Real Madrid manager. Alonso’s time in the Spanish capital was ultimately short-lived, but it’s not like the team have not done any better since his exit and at least there were no training-ground fights under his stewardship. With Leverkusen, he not only won the club’s first ever Bundesliga title and Cup double in 2023-24 but would go 49 games without defeat in all competitions.
Other names mentioned that have been mentioned in our search include Filipe Luis, Cesc Fabregas, and Oliver Glasner, but I think Alonso would be the most exciting name for most at this moment.