On the even of Xabi Alonso’s arrival at Chelsea, we are starting to see more and more details come out about how his squad may shape up.
Xabi Alonso has drawn a firm line in the Stamford Bridge dressing room ahead of his debut season.
The Spanish manager has designated a select core, including Cole Palmer, Moises Caicedo, Joao Pedro, and breakout academy defender Josh Acheampong, as completely untouchable.
Conversely, Alonso has ruthlessly sanctioned a summer clear-out for those who don’t fit his system, as he looks to shape a disciplined, successful title-ready squad.
Who will be a bigger success – Enzo Maresca or Xabi Alonso? 🤔
City have confirmed Maresca will replace Guardiola.
Jorrel Hato to make the step up under Xabi Alonso
Football.London have given some insight into the plans for Jorrel Hato at Chelsea, given the departure of Marc Cucurella and Valentin Barco’s arrival.
And they believe that Jorrel Hato is set to play an enormous role for Chelsea next season.
Able to play as the left-sided centre back, as well as at left-back, Hato is expected to be a favourite for Alonso next term.
This comes after Hato praised the arrival of Alonso.
“I think Chelsea made a good decision to get Xabi Alonso.
“I’m excited, I knew him as a player and watched him growing up at Liverpool and at Real Madrid.
“He did very well at Leverkusen too, and they became champions and he was at Madrid.
“He’s a big name so I’m very excited.
“I’ve played in a back three and a back four, for me I don’t care about where I want to play, I just want to play.”
Enzo Maresca just didn’t fancy Jorrel Hato
Jorrel Hato’s debut season at Chelsea under Enzo Maresca forced him to be patient, with a slow integration process.
Arriving from Ajax, the highly-rated defender was publicly praised by Maresca for possessing maturity far beyond his years. But despite this initial admiration, the Italian manager remained highly cautious, limiting his appearances to basically just cup competitions.
Maresca only gave Hato four chances in the Premier League before he left on January 1st, as well as two in the Champions League and three in the Carabao Cup.
The former Chelsea boss put it down to him not being ready, but as we’ve seen with Liam Rosenior and Callum McFarlane, the quality was always there.
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