Xabi Alonso agrees four-year deal to be new Chelsea manager
Xabi Alonso emerged as the standout candidate to take over at Stamford Bridge thanks to his impressive spell in charge of Bayer Leverkusen Xabi Alonso has agreed a four-year deal to become Chelsea’s new head coach. Telegraph Sport exclusively reported that Chelsea had been aiming to announce their new man within days of the FA Cup final, which they lost to Manchester City on Saturday, and the club are expected to officially confirm Alonso’s appointment on Sunday. Clinching a deal for Alonso’s arrival is a major coup for Chelsea’s under-fire BlueCo owners, with the club facing the threat of not playing in any European competition next season.
Alonso is thought to have expressed excitement at the prospect of working with Chelsea’s squad and there was never any fear within Stamford Bridge that he would wait to see if the Liverpool job became available. Chelsea players have been informed that Alonso will be their new head coach and are said to be excited by his appointment. While Chelsea have not promised Alonso full control, he will be given a more meaningful role in the club’s decision making than some of his predecessors.
Chelsea want to sign two or three ready-made players to boost their squad, regardless of whether they qualify for Europe. Chelsea co-owner Behdad Eghbali says they will add ‘ready-made players’ to their squad, veering from the strategy of targeting promising youngsters - Robin Jones/Getty Images After sacking Liam Rosenior and installing Calum McFarlane as interim head coach, Chelsea spoke to Alonso, Andoni Iraola, Marco Silva and Oliver Glasner as part of their recruitment process. Alonso was always viewed as the standout candidate thanks to his stellar playing career with Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, and an excellent spell as Bayer Leverkusen head coach during which he won the Bundesliga title.
Xabi Alonso won the Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen in 2024 - Getty Images Chelsea are not concerned that Alonso was sacked after less than a season in charge of Real Madrid and believe he is perfectly suited to working with the squad of players they have. Alonso has agreed to take the Chelsea job, despite the fact the team may not be playing in European competition under him next season. Saturday’s FA Cup final defeat meant Chelsea have not qualified for the Europa League and face an uphill battle to qualify for any European competition through the Premier League.
Chelsea are ninth in the Premier League table, six points behind sixth-placed Bournemouth and four behind Brighton in seventh, with two games remaining. They host Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday night, before finishing their season against Sunderland next Sunday and will most likely need to win both to stand any chance of qualifying for Europe. Failure to do so could be seen as a blessing in disguise for Alonso, who would get much longer to work with the squad and impose his ideas, but it would be a financial and reputational blow to Chelsea.
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