Chelsea secured their first-choice manager in Xabi Alonso – an appointment which few outsiders had seen coming, amid fears he might see this as a job not worth risking his reputation on.
Yet Daily Mail Sport has been told Alonso liked what he heard during his interview process, led by the club’s co-sporting directors, Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, and that all soon realised they were aligned when discussing what they need to do to be successful.
Chelsea even offered to name Alonso their ‘manager’ rather than ‘head coach’ after promising him more power than their previous appointments. The former Bayer Leverkusen and Real Madrid boss will be an equal partner alongside their sporting leadership team and ownership, and here Daily Mail Sport lists his most pressing items of business as he prepares to officially start work on July 1…
CHOP THE DEADWOOD
Chelsea sources are calling this the ‘next phase’ of their ‘evolution’, though the influence privately pledged to Alonso signifies a shift. The authority the 44-year-old Spaniard will be allowed has been made clear from the moment of his appointment, including in the transfer window.
Chelsea fans will see this change in approach as long overdue, and with Alonso now in charge of driving standards, it is crucial he gets rid of any passengers not up for the ride.
Among those we might see sold include Liam Delap, Alejandro Garnacho, Tosin Adarabioyo, Benoit Badiashile, Filip Jorgensen and Axel Disasi.
Mamadou Sarr and Josh Acheampong should be sent on loan. Wesley Fofana may not meet Alonso’s criteria of a ‘mentality monster’ – he’s not shown it this season – and Chelsea could listen to offers if they come in. Sources close to Fofana, who earns more than £200,000 a week, insist he is not interested in leaving.
Xabi Alonso has plenty to ponder before he starts his job as the new manager of Chelsea
Alonso could deem Liam Delap surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge
CREATE A NEW CULTURE
Ask Chelsea insiders why they landed on Alonso as their preferred candidate, and the word ‘culture’ will inevitably crop up within their reasoning.
It has been recognised as an issue internally, not least amid those six successive league losses without scoring. That was enough to earn Liam Rosenior the sack.
Player power has never been more prevalent. While they will deny ‘downing tools’ to get rid of Rosenior, the squad hardly fought for him to stay. There have been suggestions some even referred to him as ‘the supply teacher’ in private. Not a single one of them posted well wishes or a message of thanks on social media upon his sacking last month.
But Alonso is a bigger name who will command respect. Whatever Chelsea’s players may think they have achieved in their careers, he’s been there, done it and won bigger and better trophies.
Chelsea are not yet confirming Alonso’s backroom staff, but it is understood he will be bringing Sebas Parrilla and Alberto Encinas with him as assistants, as well as analyst Benat Labaien and fitness coach Ismael Camenforte-Lopez.
Interim Calum McFarlane is also set to stay as a first-team coach, and the same goes for goalkeeper coach Ben Roberts and set-piece specialist Bernardo Cueva.
Not a single Chelsea player posted a message of thanks on social media upon Liam Rosenior’s sacking last month
TEACH THEM YOUR STYLE – FAST!
It is helpful that McFarlane has started using a 3-4-2-1 system – Alonso’s favoured formation which helped him deliver historic success to Leverkusen.
Such was their lack of trophies, they were known as ‘Neverkusen’ until he led their young side to the Bundesliga title as ‘Invincibles’ in 2023-24, along with winning the DFB-Pokal and reaching the final of the Europe League.
Chelsea do not know if they will be competing in any European competition next season as they are 10th in the Premier League with two games to go – Tottenham Hotspur at home on Tuesday, and Sunderland away at the weekend.
While embarrassing, the one and only silver lining for missing out on Europe entirely is the time it will allow Alonso to work with his squad on the training ground at Cobham. But he will need to start teaching this squad his style of football as soon as he arrives after joining officially on July 1.
Alonso’s first game in charge of Chelsea is set to be a friendly on Tuesday, July 28 – in Sydney, Australia, versus Western Sydney Wanderers, 7.45pm local time, 10.45am UK time. Daily Mail Sport will be there Down Under to cover it.
WAKE UP THE ‘UNTOUCHABLES’
Chelsea have a few ‘untouchables’ they will not consider selling and we are told Cole Palmer is one of them, but this season, he has been nowhere near himself. At Leverkusen, Alonso inspired Florian Wirtz to become so good that Liverpool eventually spent £116million to sign him.
Alonso needs to get more out of Cole Palmer, who has had a disappointing season
Palmer is suited to the Wirtz role, while Joao Pedro – another ‘untouchable’ according to sources, despite Barcelona’s attempts at turning his head – is very much an Alonso-style striker.
Joao Pedro has been one of the only impressive players for Chelsea this term, scoring 20 goals in all competitions. But Palmer needs Alonso to wake him up out of his slumber.
On Chelsea’s part, they need to give Alonso time to work and not panic. Had he seen through the length of his contract, Graham Potter would still have a year remaining on his deal as of this summer. Enzo Maresca would have four years remaining. Liam Rosenior, six years.
Alonso is now coming in on a contract until 2030. Let him do what he does.
