Chelsea next manager: Xabi Alonso added to shortlist as opening contact made

After sacking Liam Rosenior and appointing Calum McFarlane on an interim basis, Chelsea are searching for their next permanent manager, and three names on their shortlist have emerged

Chelsea will make checks on both Xabi Alonso and Marco Silva after contacting Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola in their search for a new manager. The Blues sacked Liam Rosenior last week on the back of suffering five consecutive Premier League defeats, leaving their Champions League hopes in tatters.

Calum McFarlane will take charge of first-team duties until the end of this season after guiding Chelsea to the FA Cup final with Sunday’s 1-0 victory over Leeds. McFarlane will then be a replaced by a permanent successor to Rosenior, who lasted just three months in the Stamford Bridge hot seat.

It emerged on Monday that Chelsea have made contact with Iraola, 43, who’s already confirmed to be leaving Bournemouth upon the expiry of his contract in June. But the Spaniard isn’t the only manager under consideration, the Telegraph report.

Fulham boss Silva, who like Iraola is out of contract this summer, is also set to be contacted. As is Alonso, who was sacked by Real Madrid in January after just seven months in charge, and the former Liverpool midfielder is under the same representation as compatriot Iraola.

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Those three aren’t the only coaches on Chelsea’s shortlist, though, with other unnamed candidates also being discussed. Their group of five sporting directors will spearhead the process of appointing the club’s sixth permanent manager since Chelsea were purchased by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital’s consortium in 2022.

The Blues have a week until they play again, hosting relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest next Monday afternoon. While Alonso and Iraola are both available for hire in the summer as things stand, Silva’s future at Fulham remains undecided.

Who should Chelsea appoint as their next manager? Let us know your pick in the comments section.

When asked last week if there’d been any progress regarding his future, the Portuguese snapped: “No. Why is it different this week? It is not at all.

“It is the same and the same answer that I said to you already last week, it is the same. I will not make, every single week, comments about (my future).

“When something comes new, we are going to tell from ourselves, myself and the club. Everything what I need, or the club needs to do with me is going to be between me and the club.”

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