The news of Alonso's likely arrival follows a disappointing end to the season for interim boss Calum McFarlane. Chelseafell to a 1-0 defeat against Manchester City in the FA Cup final on Saturday, with Antoine Semenyo scoring the winner. After the game, McFarlane voiced his frustration with the officiating, stating: "I thought it was an even game, I thought both teams had moments of control, both teams had momentum at different times. Two really good sides, got a lot of respect for Manchester City and what they've done over their period of success, so congratulations to them first."
Reflecting on penalty shouts, McFarlane added: "Disappointing result but a very evenly matched game. In terms of the penalty incidents, I thought they're tough calls but for me the Jorrel Hato and [Abdukodir] Khusanov collision in the box is a penalty, Jorrel gets in front and it's a collision in the back, if that's anywhere else on the pitch it's a foul. Very similar to last week at Liverpool with Joao Pedro and [Jeremie] Frimpong, I said the same, thought that was a penalty as well, so sometimes you get them, sometimes you don't."