Chelsea’s interest in Xabi Alonso has escalated in the last 48 hours, and he has already received the seal of approval from Blues legend Jose Mourinho.
Despite the club not wanting to announce the new manager until the end of the season, their reported interest in Xabi Alonso has refused to go away.
In fact, Carlo Pellegatti has stated Alonso is destined to join Chelsea, turning down an equally big move to AC Milan in the process.
QUARTER-FINAL 1: Reece James vs Estevao Willian
Jose Mourinho knew Xabi Alonso would be a top manager seven years ago
The Spaniard’s short tenure at Real Madrid has done little to tarnish his reputation, with the basket case at the Bernabeu difficult for anyone to deal with.
He could well be replaced by Jose Mourinho in Spain, who still goes down as the best manager in the club’s recent history.
The Portuguese manager told Top Eleven all the way back in 2019 that he could see Alonso was going to be a top manager due to his knowledge of the game, and the quality of manager he has learned from.
He said: “With Xabi Alonso you always saw there was a manager there. Similarly to me, his father was a player,”
“He grew up with a father who was a player then a manager, and then he became a player, of course much better than I was.
“His knowledge of the game was very high. And then he played in Spain, England and Germany. And he was coached by [Pep] Guardiola at Bayern, by myself in Real Madrid, by [Carlo] Ancelotti in Real Madrid and by [Rafa] Benitez in Liverpool.
“So if you put all that together then I would say that Xabi has conditions to be a very good coach.”
Mass changes coming at Chelsea if Alonso joins
Alonso would surely like to return to the back three that brought him so much success during his time in charge of Bayer Leverkusen.
What will Xabi Alonso go with if he gets the Chelsea job, a back three or back four? 🧐
Doing so would require hefty investment in the backline, with only Levi Colwill really assured a place in defence next season.
Robert Sanchez would likely be in trouble too due to the Spanish manager’s obsession with playing out from the back.
This could clear the path for Mike Penders to become the number one at the club, with him showing off his skills with his feet during his loan spell at Strasbourg.
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