Xabi Alonso is preparing for his first season managing in England.<\/p>\n
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Despite his links to Liverpool, the former Bayer Leverkusen and Real Madrid boss took charge of Chelsea at the start of the month.<\/p>\n
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The 44-year-old will lead the Blues into a new era and one that sees the club in the midst of a large scale rebuild.<\/p>\n
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Troy Deeney predicts Premier League’s top-four next season<\/h2>\n
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Next season will see Chelsea excluded from playing in any sort of European competition after they finished 10th last term. The opposite is true for Manchester United. <\/p>\n
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The Red Devils have qualified for the UEFA Champions League, but with a smaller squad, Deeney believes the demands will be too much for Michael Carrick’s men. <\/p>\n
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“I don\u2019t think they\u2019ll make the Champions League places right now,”<\/strong><\/em> he told talkSPORT (via Metro). <\/p>\n <\/p>\n “The reason is we don\u2019t know what Carrick\u2019s like with three games in a week at this level. Obviously, we saw a bit of Championship, but not at this level.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n “Now, having to look at the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cups, Carabao Cups, you can\u2019t go out as early as you have done in previous years.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n “There\u2019s an expectation now to do more. Bruno Fernandes, do you really think he\u2019s going to have the season he had last season again this season?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n “I just think that with the squad currently constructed as is, I don\u2019t think there\u2019s enough depth to get through all of those competitions, which I think will ultimately leave them short.”<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Due to expecting the Red Devils to finish outside of the top-four, Deeney thinks Chelsea will be the club to fill the void.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n “Arsenal first, City second, Liverpool third, and just to annoy most people, I\u2019m going to say Chelsea fourth,”<\/strong><\/em> he concluded.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Even though Chelsea have already made some big moves this summer, there is still a lot of business the club needs to do.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A new left-back is needed, but despite Alonso pushing to sign Pep Chavarria, an agreement has yet to be reached with Rayo Vallecano.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Blues could also do with a new central midfielder, and that will become even more important if Enzo Fernandez departs before the deadline.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n There is also uncertainty in attack. Liam Delap, Marc Guiu and Nicolas Jackson are all unlikely to be Alonso’s preferred striker suggesting a new hitman may be needed.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Failure to get all of his transfers agreed in time will see Alonso forced to contend with selection issues and that could lead to inconsistent performances and results throughout the season.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Follow<\/span>Transfers to be key<\/h2>\n
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