Another factor that makes it entirely understandable why Alonso sees potential at Chelsea is the undoubted quality already present. With Enzo Fernández and Moises Caicedo, the Blues boast two of the world's best central midfielders, while Cole Palmer supplies creative brilliance. Up front, highly rated talents such as Estevao and Jamie Gittens add pace and promise, while Jorrel Hato provides defensive solidity at the back and Levi Colwill, sidelined by a cruciate ligament injury, remains poised to return to his world-class trajectory.
Alonso can clearly help these talents mature further and, with his tactical know-how, mould them into a unit capable of challenging for major honours in England and Europe. A few tweaks are still needed, notably a long-overdue top-class goalkeeper and extra support for Joao Pedro up front so he can become a more reliable goalscorer.
Alonso will have studied Chelsea's situation closely before accepting this mammoth task; had events gone differently, the Liverpool job that went to Arne Slot might have been his. At Anfield, where he is an icon and one of his three dream clubs (Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Liverpool) is based. However, the chaos at Real Madrid may have prompted Alonso to change course and deliberately pick a club with no personal history, where failure would carry less individual stigma.
From a purely objective perspective, the bold move to Chelsea represents a significant risk for the former world-class midfielder's coaching career, which began so brightly. If Alonso fails at his second major European club, his reputation as a coach will suffer its first lasting blow. In this light, he is clearly taking a chance, especially as the challenges at Stamford Bridge appear immense.