Xhaka to Chelsea: Four more former players Alonso should target next | OneFootball

New Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso is playing a big part in their transfer plans already by pushing for a reunion with Granit Xhaka.

At the age of 33, Xhaka isn’t a typical signing for this Chelsea regime. But he was a big part of Alonso’s successful Bayer Leverkusen side and enjoyed a brilliant season with Sunderland upon his Premier League return.

Now, the former Arsenal captain is on course for a return to London to reunite with Alonso, if a deal with Sunderland can be agreed.

But which of Alonso’s other former players from his time with Bayer Leverkusen and Real Madrid would be good signings for Chelsea? We’ve picked out four more options.

Alvaro Carreras

Now, we’ll admit this one might not be a great look on paper.

Marc Cucurella leaves Chelsea for Real Madrid, who see him as an upgrade on Alvaro Carreras. Carreras joins Chelsea to replace Cucurella, the same player perceived as an upgrade over him…

It wouldn’t be a great reflection of Chelsea’s place in the transfer food chain, would it?

But one thing’s for certain, they need a new left-back. And while Alex Grimaldo is a better option among Alonso’s former players, he’s bound for a move from Leverkusen to Atletico Madrid, which has already been given a ‘here we go’ by Fabrizio Romano.

For what it’s worth, Romano has also claimed Chelsea have had Carreras on their shortlist, without going much further yet.

A move for Carreras would bring the former Manchester United prospect and Preston North End loanee back to English football, where he never got a chance to make his Premier League debut before.

While his Real Madrid career has been mixed so far, he developed into a promising talent at Benfica in the 18 months before his move.

The 25 appearances Carreras made under Alonso were enough to put him in the manager’s top 10 most-used players at Madrid.

Jacobo Ramon

Ramon only made one appearance under Alonso, at the Club World Cup last year.

It was the defender’s sixth and final appearance for Real Madrid before a move to Como, where he has cemented his reputation and helped his side to Champions League qualification by the end of his debut season.

While much of the focus has been on the other player Como picked up from Madrid – Nico Paz – Ramon made a name for himself as well over his 37 appearances for his new club.

His form has led to talk of a move to Chelsea, with sources like the BBC, The Athletic and our friends at TEAMtalk confirming he’s on their centre-back shortlist.

Some feel Chelsea need more experience in defence, but they’re trying to address that by going for Crystal Palace’s Maxence Lacroix.

If they have room to evolve their backline further, Ramon could be worth investing in.

Gonzalo Garcia

Chelsea could still do with another striker, having been impressed by Joao Pedro since he joined last summer but less so by Liam Delap.

Some think Alonso will take a fresh look at Nicolas Jackson after his loan at Bayern Munich, but his place in Chelsea’s future plans is far from guaranteed – as with Delap’s.

And with Pedro the kind of striker who can come deep and play in number 10 territory if needed, Chelsea could benefit from having another pure striker among their ranks.

If they don’t want to disrupt Pedro as their main starter too much, though, they could look to the future by going for a Real Madrid talent that Alonso always believed in.

Gonzalo Garcia scored Madrid’s first goal under Alonso at the Club World Cup and ended up with eight goals from 26 games during their time together.

Only Kylian Mbappe scored more for Madrid during Alonso’s reign and he’s not going anywhere, is he? We’re trying to be at least semi-realistic here…

Garcia’s future in Madrid is in doubt as Endrick prepares to be reintegrated after his loan spell with Lyon.

Chelsea have shown a willingness to invest in young Spanish strikers before, such as when they took Marc Guiu from Barcelona. But Garcia, 22, should be a bit more ready to go.

Kerim Alajbegovic

Granted, Alajbegovic actually never made an appearance under Alonso when they were at Leverkusen together, but the attacking midfielder was certainly on his manager’s radar.

Still an academy prospect at the time, Alajbegovic has since developed at Red Bull Salzburg and become a full international for Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Having been bought back by Leverkusen this summer, the 18-year-old could be moved on for profit after attracting plenty of interest.

Chelsea need a better left winger than the ones they invested in last summer. It might be a bit too soon for Alajbegovic, but that usually doesn’t put BlueCo off.

“He has something very special,” Alonso said of Alajbegovic in February 2025. “In very small spaces he likes to combine for very short combinations, has a very good first touch and is a good player in front of the goal as well. We want to help him develop and improve and are happy that he’s taking those steps forward.”

If Alonso wants to go for a more proven attacking midfielder that he’s worked with before, Arda Guler might be the one, but he’ll be tricky to prise away from Real Madrid.