The speed of the decline at Chelsea has been stark this season, less than a year on from romping to Club World Cup glory over Champions League holders, Paris Saint-Germain.
Enzo Maresca had already steered the Blues to a top-four finish and Conference League success by that stage, the first BlueCo hire to truly look like the right man to lead the club forward again.
Now, the Italian's sour exit, followed by Liam Rosenior's disastrous three-month reign, has left Todd Boehly and co back at square one, with the west Londoners only recently ending a seven-game losing streak in the Premier League.
Maresca's record at Chelsea (timeless)
The Blues are in a rut, no doubt about it, but this is still Chelsea after all, with the vacancy still an attractive prospect for the game's emerging elite managers.
Chelsea have held talks over hiring Xabi Alonso alternative
The man on everybody's lips right now is Xabi Alonso, with the out-of-work Spaniard seemingly the headline name to be Rosenior's permanent successor, having left Real Madrid late last year after his own brief tenure.
xabi-alonso-chelsea-premier-league
There is a sense, according to some reports, that the Liverpool target is almost 'destined' to make the move to Stamford Bridge this summer, even amid those Anfield whispers.
As noted by Sky Sports' Kaveh Solhekol, Alonso would be open to joining Chelsea, albeit while faced with the dilemma of whether or not to wait it out for his dream job, which would be to replace Arne Slot on Merseyside.
Xabi Alonso record at Real Madrid (timeless)
According to Solhekol, BlueCo haven't necessarily settled on a frontrunner anyway, having held talks with the representatives of the five or six managers on their shortlist.
Among the names subsequently mentioned is Alonso's compatriot and former Spain teammate, Cesc Fabregas, with the Como boss said to be among the names who are 'being considered'.
This comes following prior claims that Fabregas is 'free to leave' the Serie A side, should he wish to re-join the Blues as a manager.
Why Fabregas would be a better fit than Alonso at Chelsea
Football can be a fickle game at times, with prior allegiances often going out the window if success is secured, both for players and managers.
Chelsea managers - Premier League points per game*
Coach
Grant
Mourinho
Conte
Ancelotti
Benitez
Scolari
Tuchel
Hiddink
Sarri
Di Matteo
*Top 10 - since 2000
That said, at Chelsea, the men in the dugout have often found it hard to shake their connections to top-flight rivals, be it ex-Liverpool man Rafa Benitez, or former Tottenham Hotspur favourite, Mauricio Pochettino.
Would Alonso, part of the Liverpool side that routinely tussled with Chelsea in the mid-2000s, also be facing an uphill battle from the start to win over the Blues fanbase?
xabi-alonso-liverpool
It's certainly a possibility, with the west London side perhaps needing to focus instead on a more uniting presence, a figure who would immediately have the backing of the Stamford Bridge faithful.
Even after having risen up at Arsenal, Fabregas might well be that man, having won two league titles during his time at Chelsea, playing a particularly key role in the 2014/15 triumph under Jose Mourinho.
cesc-fabregas-chelsea-eden-hazard
Who can forget his delightful assist for Andre Schurrle away at Turf Moor, with the one-time Barcelona playmaker having been a pure genius in midfield, such an influential figure in his pomp.
By all accounts, that artistry looks to have now been replicated in the dugout, with Fabregas hailed as "football's next elite manager" by one notable analyst, following his fine work in Italy to date.
Since an initial brief spell as interim in November 2023, the 4-2-3-1-focused manager has been integral to Como's rapid rise, helping to steer the club to promotion from Serie B in 2023/24, prior to being officially named head coach that summer.
A respectable tenth-place finish in the top-flight followed, while Fabregas' men are now guaranteed European qualification of some form this time around, set to finish at least sixth with just two games left to play.
Cesc-Fabregas-Como
He may not have the elite-level winning experience that Alonso achieved at Bayer Leverkusen, although nor has he been stung in his brief managerial career to date, with Alonso swiftly coming unstuck in Madrid.
The latter man couldn't revive the fortunes of a Los Blancos side who appear to be enduring turmoil of their own, with there likely to be doubts over whether he would face the same fate if snapped up by Chelsea.
Como coach Cesc Fabregas
In Fabregas' case, he is a man still on the rise, and a man who knows what it takes to be a success at the Bridge. His work at Como should also be reason for encouragement, particularly considering he boasts the fourth-youngest squad (25.7 years) in Serie A this season.
That should be music to the ears of BlueCo, with Fabregas surely the better option ahead of a vital summer for the Chelsea hierarchy.
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