Chelsea are still looking for a successful successor to Enzo Maresca after Liam Rosenior was relieved of his duties in April after just three months in charge.
The Blues parted ways with Maresca at the start of January with the team sat in fifth place in the Premier League table, after finishing fourth last term.
In his only full season at Stamford Bridge, the Italian head coach won the Conference League and the Club World Cup, whilst also qualifying for the Champions League.
Maresca's record at Chelsea (timeless)
The former Leicester City coach, who won the Championship title with the Foxes in the 2023/24 campaign, won 55 of his 92 matches in charge of the Blues.
However, Maresca did not do enough to buy himself more time and then the club failed to replace him adequately when they appointed Rosenior, who was swiftly sacked.
Chelsea identify number one managerial target
Callum McFarlane is currently in interim charge and secured a 1-1 draw against Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday, but he is not expected to land the job on a permanent basis.
The Blues are looking for an experienced manager to come in and take the team forward into the summer transfer window and the 2026/27 campaign, and they have reportedly identified their top target.
calum-mcfarlane-chelsea
Indeed, according to reports in Italy, Chelsea have held 'positive talks this week' to hire Xabi Alonson.
Real Madrid parted company with the Spanish tactician in January, 12 days after the Blues let go of Maresca, and he has been out of work since then.
xabi-alonso-chelsea-premier-league
Chelsea, per the reports, are now looking at Alonso as their number one managerial target to take the reins this summer to lead the team forward.
It is further noted that the 4-2-3-1 Spaniard has 'given his availability for a long-term project'.
Why Xabi Alonso would be an upgrade on Enzo Maresca for Chelsea
Whilst it may happen several months later than they would have liked, Chelsea could finally land a better manager than Maresca by convincing Alonso to join the club this summer.
Xabi Alonso record at Real Madrid (timeless)
The Spaniard was sacked by Real, despite only losing six out of 34 matches, but his time at Bayer Leverkusen shows that he has the potential to be an exceptional appointment.
In the 2023/24 campaign, Alonso led the German club to an unbeaten Bundesliga title, the DFB Pokal cup, and to the final of the Europa League, where they lost to Atalanta and a hat-trick from Ademola Lookman.
|Xabi Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen|
|23/24|All competitions|
|---|
|Matches|53|
|Wins|43|
|Draws|9|
|Losses|1|
|Goals scored|144|
|Goals conceded|42|
|Trophies won|2|
That defeat to the Italian side was the only loss that Leverkusen suffered across 53 matches in all competitions that season under the Spanish boss, which is a remarkable statistic.
A "tactical genius" in the words of presenter and analyst James Allcott, Alonso also won the German Super Cup at the start of the following season and second in the Bundesliga with Leverkusen in the 2024/25 campaign before his move to Real.
Even before winning the title, Alonso took over Leverkusen when they were 17th in the table after eight matches in the 2022/23 season and led them to a sixth place finish, which also shows that the Spaniard can galvanise a struggling club.
Chelsea are a struggling club. They are outside of the European places and are on course to not be in any European competitions next term unless they beat Manchester City in the FA Cup final.
Xabi Alonso and Arne Slot
Alonso, who was described as "one of the best managers in the world" by Carlo Ancelotti, could be exactly what the Blues need to get back to competing for the biggest trophies domestically and on the European stage.
He only lost 12 league games in four seasons with Leverkusen and Real Madrid, whilst Maresca lost 14 times in the Premier League in one-and-a-half seasons at Chelsea.
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca reacts after the match
Alonso has shown that he can bring a struggling team up the table and that he can win big trophies, having won the Bundesliga title without losing a game.
Maresca, though, has never won a top-flight league, only the Championship with Leicester, and his lack of experience at the top level may have played a part in the club's decision to part ways with him.
Now, Chelsea must convince Alonso to take the job at Stamford Bridge because he could be the upgrade on Maresca that they have been searching for since the start of January.
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