Throughout the turbulence of the BlueCo era at Chelsea, Stamford Bridge has retained its ability to challenge for titles.
Last season, Enzo Maresca led his side to two trophies: the Conference League and the Club World Cup. But the managerial business is transient, and that's especially so at Chelsea, with Maresca sacked midway through his second season in charge.
Liam Rosenior proved a disaster in his stead, and now Chelsea need to return to the top of their game. The Blues have lost their way and sit ninth in the Premier League.
Chelsea Permanent Managers under Boehly
Manager
Liam Rosenior
Enzo Maresca
Mauricio Pochettino
Graham Potter
Champions League football is likely off the cards following wretched recent form, but Calum McFarlane has led Chelsea into the FA Cup final, and it's a measure of the Londoners' reputation that they are still able to attract top-class managers in spite of their current struggles.
Chelsea in talks to hire new manager
Talks are underway, not just with one candidate, but a range of potential coaches whose interests have been piqued by Chelsea's search for a long-term appointment who fits their ideology: flowing, expansive football.
It's not hard to understand why checks are being made on Xabi Alonso, who is a prominent name on the shortlist. The one-time Liverpool midfielder is a sharp-minded tactician, though he's still in his coaching infancy when compared to some other candidates.
Take Oliver Glasner, for example. The outgoing Crystal Palace manager is among the coaches to have been preliminarily contacted, according to BBC Sport's Sami Mokbel, though he and Alonso are joined by a number of further names, including the Premier League's Andoni Iraola and Marco Silva.
Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner arrives at the stadium before the match
Glasner has worked wonders at Selhurst Park, though, and would bring title-winning experience that others are yet to boast - Alonso, who has not worked in the English game, notwithstanding.
Todd Boehly and co are aiming to have a new face welcomed to the dugout in plenty of time for Chelsea's pre-season campaign at the start of July.
Why Glasner would be an Alonso upgrade
Alonso is undoubtedly the more attractive name. Make a poll, and the percentage would lean in the Spaniard's favour.
Xabi Alonso record at Real Madrid (timeless)
An invincible domestic season with Bayer Leverkusen put Alonso's name on the managerial map all right, though his reputation took a bit of a hit this season, swallowed into the crisis over at Real Madrid. How much of Los Blancos' struggles were actually down to him is questionable.
Even so, Glasner is the real deal. The 51-year-old has secured silverware at Palace and Eintracht Frankfurt before that. An exponent of a three-man defence, with robust, overlapping wing-backs and centre-halves who have skill on the ball and enough athleticism to step forward to support attacks, he would bring a sense of familiarity to a Chelsea side who have won the biggest titles with such unconventional approaches.
His FA Cup triumph last season will likely go down as the crowning moment of his reign, but Glasner also secured 53 Premier League points last year - Palace's highest-ever in the division. Imagine how he would give rise to a higher calibre of squad at Chelsea, with deeper pockets and grander ambitions.
Palmer, for example, would stand a strong chance indeed of returning to top form. The England playmaker has been at a low ebb recently, but he's still one of the most talented players in the division, and his technicality and big-moment presence in the final third would be raised back to the fore under a manager who is adaptable and highly intelligent.
Most valuable players in the Premier League (Haaland, Saka, Rice, Palmer, Wirtz, Isak, Szoboszlai)
After all, Glasner outwitted Pep Guardiola in last year's FA Cup final, and has even been declared a "better manager" than Arteta by the ever-outspoken Jamie O'Hara. Arsenal supporters would contest that one, for sure, but in a few weeks, Glasner has the chance to win his third trophy in just one year for the Eagles, and comparatively, that rise to prominence echoes Arsenal's own growth over the past six-or-so years.
Alonso's elite-level playing experience and, to borrow a Gen Z term, 'aura' on the touchline emphasises the potential in appointing him to take over next season.
xabi-alonso-real-madrid
He would be a fantastic hire, but so would Glasner, a manager whose tactics have led Crystal Palace to two titles and potentially a third - this time on the European stage.
Given that he lifted the Europa League title with Frankfurt, the Austrian is hardly a one-trick pony, and his wealth of Premier League experience and further background in securing titles and levelling-up players does issue a strong claim to his candidacy.
pedro Related
BlueCo in talks to sign Chelsea's next Joao Pedro for £60m
Chelsea have already commenced work on a deal to sign one talent ahead of the summer window.