{"id":5510,"date":"2026-05-07T18:03:33","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T18:03:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=5510"},"modified":"2026-05-07T18:03:33","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T18:03:33","slug":"chelsea-continue-xabi-alonso-talks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=5510","title":{"rendered":"Chelsea continue Xabi Alonso talks"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Chelsea are reportedly still continuing in talks over hiring Xabi Alonso, who may still need some convincing to take the job.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Spanish tactician is out of work after leaving Real Madrid earlier this season, and it seems he\u2019s one of Chelsea\u2019s top targets.<\/p>\n

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According to Simon Phillips, the Blues are continuing in their efforts to persuade Alonso to join, but their manager search has supposedly proven tricky so far.<\/p>\n

In general, it seems a lot of the candidates Chelsea have been approaching are unsure about the job, and some have already outright rejected the west London giants\u2019 advances.<\/p>\n

Latest on Chelsea\u2019s pursuit of Xabi Alonso<\/h2>\n

Discussing the latest on the Alonso to Chelsea situation, Phillips wrote in his Substack: \u201cChelsea have continued talks with their top managerial target Xabi Alonso this week, and the fact that these talks are continuing, means there is still a chance.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOverall, as reported yesterday, Chelsea have been finding it very hard to convince manager targets to come. And we\u2019ve heard that some managers have already rejected their approaches.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, Alonso has not walked away from talks yet, but does need a lot of convincing and promises in order to take the role. Chelsea are offering Alonso more control, which is what he has asked for. He\u2019s also been asking around recruitment, especially centre backs, and who they will be looking to bring in.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThere is a lot of planning and Alonso is insisting that if he is to take the role, then he needs much more of a say than previous managers have had, and more assurances overall around the project and the flexibility on it all. At the moment, Chelsea are working to give those assurances to Alonso, and see him as the main target they want in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Is Xabi Alonso the right fit for Chelsea?<\/h2>\n

The Chelsea job looks like a particularly challenging one at the moment, and it\u2019s unclear if even a talented coach like Alonso could be up to the task.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
Xabi Alonso<\/strong><\/td>\nWins<\/strong><\/td>\nDraws<\/strong><\/td>\nLosses<\/strong><\/td>\nWin %<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bayer Leverkusen<\/td>\n88<\/td>\n33<\/td>\n19<\/td>\n62.86<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Real Madrid<\/td>\n24<\/td>\n4<\/td>\n6<\/td>\n70.59<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The 44-year-old seems keen to have a lot of control, but that\u2019s surely unlikely to happen under this ownership and board structure.<\/p>\n

Alonso also has the habit of using three at the back and wing-backs, which is not a system that has always had a lot of success in English football.<\/p>\n

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It might be that Chelsea could make it work, as they did in the 2016\/17 season under Antonio Conte, while Alonso might also be flexible and able to adjust his methods.<\/p>\n

Overall, however, Alonso looks a risky candidate in some ways, while he also needs to pick his next club carefully after the difficulties he encountered at Real Madrid.<\/p>\n

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