Xabi Alonso will start work as Chelsea manager on July 1 after BlueCo moved quickly to hire Alonso as the club’s new boss. Jamie Redknapp has a theory for Alonso moving to Chelsea and not Liverpool.
Former Real Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen manager Alonso has put pen to paper on a four-year deal at Chelsea, replacing Liam Rosenior after Calum McFarlane took over for the second time as interim boss.
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Xabi Alonso's priority as Chelsea manager
Photo by Alvaro Medranda/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images
The move came as a bit of a surprise, with many expecting Liverpool to hire their old player if they did decide to sack Arne Slot. At the time, Slot remained and it gave Chelsea a free run at the Spaniard.
But now, Liverpool have sacked Slot. The former Feyenoord manager has been given his marching orders despite winning the Premier League title and then retaining a place in next season’s Champions League.
Jamie Redknapp delivers Alonso theory as Liverpool sack Slot
Speaking to Sky Sports after Liverpool decided to relieve Slot of his Anfield duties, Jamie Redknapp said he could not understand why Liverpool did not move earlier and bring Alonso back to Merseyside.
But he then answered his own doubt, suggesting that simply, Liverpool did not fancy Alonso. Instead, the Reds are now set to hire former Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola, who left the Vitality this month.
Head coach Xabi Alonso of Bayer Leverkusen
Photo by Sebastian El-Saqqa – firo sportphoto/Getty Images
“The only thing that caught me by surprise, is the Alonso situation. Liverpool will have been monitoring that closely. That felt to me, if you were going to lose Slot, it will have been Alonso as the next manager.
“For whatever reason, Liverpool didn’t see Xabi Alonso as the right man. That’s how I see that situation. If they really believed he was the one to take on the Liverpool job, they would have got him,” he said.
“They would have pushed that. For whatever reason, Liverpool didn’t feel he was the right man for them. If Liverpool come calling as a player of a manager, it is always difficult to resist,” Redknapp continued.
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It is a fair thought. Alonso is a Liverpool icon after his five years at Anfield and the first of three goals scored in the comeback against Milan. Had the Liverpool job been available, he might have joined.
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Joe Cole expected Alonso to go to Liverpool for that reason. What Redknapp is not considering, is that Chelsea still present a huge lure to managers around the world – even without the offer of Europe.
One of the biggest sides in the world, Chelsea remain the Club World Cup holders. This is a side with an exciting, new project ahead of them and the reassuring feeling that it cannot get any worse for them.
While there has been many mistakes from the board, which has transpired to the pitch, Chelsea is still a big club and Redknapp is not considering that perhaps, Alonso was taken in by the lure of the Blues.
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