Real Madrid ‘reject £21m bid’ for ex-Man Utd star as Xabi Alonso requests Chelsea transfer
Xabi Alonso is eyeing reinforcements at Chelsea are is keen to reunite with Alvaro Carreras, whom he worked with last year when the pair were at Real Madrid
Xabi Alonso is looking to add to his Chelsea squad(Image: Fadel SENNA / AFP via Getty Images)
Chelsea have seen a £21million bid for Real Madrid left-back Alvaro Carreras knocked back with Xabi Alonso hoping to lure him back to England with the promise of more minutes.
The Blues are in the market for a new left-back following the exit of Marc Cucurella, who left to join Los Blancos. Carreras only moved to the Bernabeu last year after impressing at Benfica, where he was finally given the chance to show his quality.
There he worked with Alonso before his dismissal, but the Spaniard is keen to reunite with a player who was once on Manchester United’s books, but never given an opportunity.
Spanish outlet Sport say Alonso has requested that Chelsea sign Carreras as he believes he is the ideal replacement for Cucurella, but their offer for the 23-year-old was immediately rejected by Madrid.
Real reportedly want at least £43m to sanction his exit despite Carreras by no means being a regular – and Alonso will hope to use the incentive of more minutes to convince him to join Chelsea.
Netherlands international Jorrel Hato, who joined Chelsea last summer for £36m, can play at left-back but the Blues are hoping to bring in more cover in that area. Chelsea’s approach in the transfer market has been widely criticised since BlueCo took charge of the club – with a number of players failing to deliver.
Alonso has been appointed and looks to have been handed more control than any Blues boss in recent memory. His exploits with Bayer Leverkusen, where he won the double, have marked him out as a top manager and the ex-Liverpool star has spoken about his desire to change their playing style and ultimately get back in Europe.
Alonso said: “To be part of that process, how we want to play, how we want to approach a game, that’s my goal. That’s what I am looking forward to having the whole squad. Early days, I am happy, but, for sure, I want to be there (in Europe). To be at Chelsea you need that ambition and hunger.”
He then doubled down on that, insisting the players must have that drive. “We need hunger, passion, we need to want to improve,” added the Spaniard. “The Premier League is so competitive. We need to prepare ourselves, we need to be determined in the details, how they want to play. But the most important bit is our game.”
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