Xabi Alonso will be desperate to make a strong start to life as a Premier League manager, however the incoming Chelsea man will now face an immediate motivation to hit the ground running.
The Spaniard is already keen to show everyone what he can do after he was sacked from the job at Real Madrid after less than a season in charge.
Club legend Gianfranco Zola has tipped Alonso for big things at Stamford Bridge, although supporters will need to see immediate results to get them on board straight away.
What role would make sense for John Terry at Chelsea? Or is he getting ahead of himself?😬
Xabi Alonso now must start quickly as Real Madrid replacement set to take over at Fulham
The Blues will start their season in the first Monday night fixture of the season, allowing themselves to see the early standards set by their rivals before they get their campaign underway against Fulham.
A clash against their West London rivals will certainly get supporters up for it, but recent reports from David Ornstein suggest there is going to be added motivation for Alonso too.
He has reported that Fulham are set to hire Alvaro Arbeloa as their new manager, after his own time at the Bernabeu came to an end.
The former defender was hired to replace Alonso when he was let go last season, although was unable to steer the Spanish giants to a strong finish to the season.
He has now in turn been replaced by Jose Mourinho, who seems to be tasked with getting some of the egos in check there.
Where was that work rate in a Chelsea shirt last season?! 😮
Enzo Fernandez's stunning stats for Argentina vs Austria.
Alonso’s stock didn’t take too much of a hit when he was sacked by Madrid. Plenty are still very high on his work after his treble-winning campaign at Bayer Leverkusen.
However, the narratives would be clear to see if in his first Premier League game in charge, the Chelsea boss was defeated by the man who took over from his role at Real Madrid.
It would also be a nice turning point for supporters, who watched their side lose 2-1 to at Craven Cottage last season before Liam Rosenior took over.
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