Chelsea Strike ‘Total Agreement’ With Xabi Alonso to Revive Floundering Blues

The 44-year-old is tipped to become Liam Rosenior’s permanent replacement.

Xabi Alonso is in line for a return to the Premier League. | Alvaro Medranda/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images

Chelsea have reportedly finalized a four-year deal with Xabi Alonso to become the Blues’ new manager off the back of their disappointing FA Cup final defeat.

The west London outfit have been scouring the market for a new permanent figure on the touchline after parting ways with both Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior in what has been a turbulent 2025–26 season at Stamford Bridge.

Alonso, who was sacked by Real Madrid in early January, emerged as a frontrunner for the job and visited London last week to advance contract talks, seemingly beating out another strong candidate in Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola.

The Athletic report the Spaniard has “accepted the opportunity” to take over Chelsea and an announcement is imminent. Alonso “wanted” the move back to the Premier League, where he spent five years playing for Liverpool.

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Alonso Faces a Familiar, Yet Unique Challenge at Stamford Bridge

Xabi Alonso failed to implement his ideas at Real Madrid. | Alberto Gardin/NurPhoto/Getty Images

Taking over this particular Chelsea side is a different challenge to managing Bayer Leverkusen or Real Madrid. In Germany, standards were low for Alonso, who was working with a team that was in the relegation zone. Eventually guiding Leverkusen to an unbeaten Bundesliga title was an extraordinary feat, but it was one no one expected.

The stakes were the complete opposite at Real Madrid. Alonso was under pressure to produce major silverware before he even managed a single game, and when he failed to get the best out of a squad full of world class talent, he was sent packing.

Now he arrives in west London where Chelsea are somehow a mix of his two previous jobs. The Blues are a sinking ship, having won just one of their last 11 league matches. They sit ninth in the table, far out of reach of the Champions League and at risk of not qualifying for any European competition.

Chelsea have one won of their last seven games across all competitions. | Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC/Getty Images

The blue shirt still comes with massive expectations, especially given Chelsea’s Club World Cup triumph last summer, as well as their strong start to the Premier League season. Except unlike at Real Madrid, Alonso does not have Kylian Mbappé to rely on. Instead, he has a squad with plenty of underperforming and somewhat unproven players he must mold into a winning team.

Alonso is gifted at molding young talent, though; just look at how Florian Wirtz and Arda Güler benefited from his leadership. He also has the tactical brain that would likely be welcome for a Chelsea team severely lacking an identity on the pitch.

Then there’s the Premier League factor. Although Alonso played in the league and helped Liverpool claim four major honors during his time at Anfield, he has never had to coach in a league as difficult and as competitive as the English top flight. It goes without saying that La Liga and the Bundesliga pail in comparison.

All the while, BlueCo will loom large, ready to pull the plug on Alonso if he cannot deliver pride and results back to Stamford Bridge. There’s also the chance that if he does, he still could get the boot if he simply does not share their vision—just ask Maresca.

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