Former Chelsea star Marcel Desailly has exclusively told TEAMtalk why he thinks the Blues can challenge for the major trophies again under Xabi Alonso, with the former Real Madrid boss having a point to prove and being lauded as the perfect man to enhance their young side.
The Blues are preparing for another new era at Stamford Bridge after appointing Alonso on a four-year deal. The Spaniard, chosen as the successor to the sacked Liam Rosenior, has been lured back into management at the west London club following his dismissal as Real Madrid boss earlier this year.
Soon after his appointment was confirmed, sources revealed exactly how BlueCo had altered their managerial process to lure Alonso to Stamford Bridge.
Alonso’s immediate aim will be to return Chelsea – who finished a lowly 10th this season – back into the Champions League places.
However, in an exclusive interview with TEAMtalk, the club’s iconic former defender Desailly believes a title challenge is realistic for Alonso next season if he gets things right.
“Yes, yes, there’s a chance [they can win the title], Desailly said, in association with MrRaflle.com. “You learn from the mistakes you have made. They will look to add three or four first-choice players into his starting XI, and while it’s going to be expensive for sure, they also have players they can dispose of to generate income.
“Eventually, they have to stop having 70 players out on loan all around the world. The management needs to start thinning it out!
“So my answer is yes, Chelsea can (challenge for the title). Because when you are young (as Chelsea are), you have a certain lightheartedness and freedom from responsibility that gives you the belief that you can do it.
“You can erase mistakes or problems much more easily because you are young and the best is still yet to come.
“I don’t believe they are hurting or in pain about what happened in past seasons, not because they don’t care, but just because it’s the nature of youth. Along with Barcelona, they are one of the youngest teams in Europe. It is what it is…”
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Xabi Alonso will have a point to prove at Chelsea
Desailly is adamant that Alonso’s appointment is an impressive one for Chelsea and believes the 44-year-old will have a point to prove after his Real Madrid departure.
“This time, yes,” Desailly continued, before explaining: “Because Bayer Leverkusen was a family club. What they did happens once every 10 years at a club where nobody expects it, going through the Bundesliga with good management. So he has shown great skills and great ability there.
“But when I say Chelsea is a perfect club for him… look at when Chelsea started this adventure of buying young players. They originally took Mauricio Pochettino to start it. Pochettino is a top coach, but he wasn’t given time. He wants to be successful immediately; he doesn’t want to just develop players. He needs players who are already up to the required level in the system. Afterwards, Chelsea had some other categories of coaches.
“But for Alonso, I feel he’s the perfect coach who can deal with upper-grade, top-class players – just not in the massive numbers he had to deal with at Real Madrid – but he can also develop players.”
“You can see it at Chelsea, right?”
Desailly also thinks he can succeed at Chelsea by developing his young squad to become world-class stars, while also advised to build his attack around Joao Pedro, Cole Palmer and Pedro Neto.
“There are like nine players who still need to be developed in the side,” Desailly added: “Joao Pedro still needs to have somebody to guide him. Pedro Neto and Cole Palmer, the same. Build the attack around these guys.
“The defence, they all need guidance. Are any of them automatic first choices in their national teams? No. So it means they still have a margin of progression, and Alonso is the perfect coach to increase that and help those individuals catch up on their potential.”
One player Alonso famously guided to superstardom – and ultimately a £116m transfer to Liverpool – is Florian Wirtz.
The Blues manager has been strongly linked with a move to reunite with his former Leverkusen protege, though sources have explained why there is no chance of such a move coming to pass.
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