Xabi Alonso has not officially taken over at Chelsea yet, but he has already helped his new club to win one transfer battle.
Chelsea are in the process of bolstering their defence, with the Blues trying to sign Maxence Lacroix from Crystal Palace and showing interest in Rayo Vallecano’s Pep Chavarria.
Chavarria faced Palace and Lacroix in the Conference League final last season but could be on the same team as the Frenchman next term.
Chavarria is a left-back, but he is not the only full-back who is admired by Chelsea.
Do you want to see Pep Chavarria, Marco Palestra or Jorrel Hato at left-back next season?
Chavarria didn't do a bad job in the Conference League final against Crystal Palace
Xabi Alonso convinced Marco Palestra with phone call
Atalanta’s Marco Palestra also has fans at Chelsea, including Xabi Alonso. In fact, the Club World Cup winners are set to sign him this summer.
Inter Milan were keen on Palestra, but Chelsea have hijacked their move to sign him with the help of their new manager.
According to Tuttomercatoweb, after Alonso called Palestra, the Italian’s heart swayed towards Chelsea.
The same outlet has also claimed that Alonso has watched Palestra’s matches for the last three months, which also helped convince him to join the former Real Madrid boss at Stamford Bridge.
One reason why Chelsea hired Alonso was because of his profile and reputation in the game. There was always a feeling that Alonso would be able to lure players to Chelsea just because of his name and what he achieved during his playing days.
Evidently, that is already proving to be the case following success in the race for Palestra’s signature.
Ultimately, while it is early days, Chelsea are already reaping the rewards of hiring Alonso. Hopefully the Spaniard can now get the job done on the pitch.
There is no doubt that his name is going to help the club in the transfer market, but his work on the pitch is what is going to really matter.
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