Granit Xhaka to Chelsea transfer talks continue but source reveals one worrying issue... | OneFootball

Chelsea are reportedly still pursuing the transfer of Sunderland midfielder Granit Xhaka, but this is very much being pushed for by Xabi Alonso.

This perhaps points towards some tension already developing inside Stamford Bridge, with new manager Alonso wanting one kind of a target while the board and recruitment team have their own ideas.

See below as the reliable Simon Phillips has quote-posted a previous report on this power struggle inside Chelsea, confirming that it’s “true” that Alonso is pushing, but that the club are not convinced, which is why their opening offer for Xhaka was so low…

“This is true. Alonso pushing this and Chelsea accepted to go for Xhaka reluctantly. But even still, went in with a low £8m offer and aren’t keen to pay too much more. Alonso really wants the player though so talks continue,” Phillips said.

This is in response to another journalist, Luca Cerchione, saying: “There is a real tug of war between Xabi Alonso and the club for Granit Xhaka. The coach, in fact, considers him necessary for the project and insists on the purchase. They are deciding whether or not to satisfy the new coach.”

Should Chelsea deliver Granit Xhaka signing for Xabi Alonso?

There are no easy answers to this question, because there are very different but perfectly valid ways to run a football club.

Chelsea’s current model is to sign top young players for a long-term project, which should in theory be able to continue with stability regardless of potential changes in the head coach or manager.

Allowing a new manager to come in and call the shots can lead to trouble further down the line if the manager doesn’t perform or decides to leave for any other reason.

One example of this would be the strange mix of signings accumulated by Manchester United down the years, as you had Erik ten Hag bringing in a number of players he knew well, only for his successor Ruben Amorim to struggle to implement his philosophy with them.

At the same time, however, Chelsea’s current project doesn’t really seem to be going well, and that stability they’ve been aiming for seems a million miles away as they’ve chopped and changed both players and managers a great deal.

Alonso has only just joined and it will be important to keep him happy, with the Spanish tactician also arguably showing that he’s earned the chance to demand the right kind of players he wants to work with.

It would not be a great look if CFC immediately failed to deliver someone who’s clearly a priority for Alonso.